Church Project Offers Mental Health Support for Children

Young people in South Wales are being offered mental health and wellbeing support to help them cope with post-lockdown life. The Diocese of Llandaff is bringing The Flourish Project to Church in Wales schools and training church volunteers to deliver the crucial programme.

Developed by the Christian charity The Proton Foundation, the project exists to help young people develop healthy self-esteem and improve their mental and emotional wellbeing by equipping them with tools and techniques that will enable them to be everything they have been created to be.

The programme is currently being delivered with three partners across two schools.

The Diocesan Director of Mission Paul Booth said, “This programme reaches to the very heart of an ever-developing crisis within young people’s lives. By training people up to deliver it, the church can offer practical support to schools as they attempt to address children and young people’s needs in this area.”

In partnership with The Flourish Project, from September 2022 to September 2023, the diocese will train 20 lay people from Ministry Areas and the staff team to run the programme as well as promote and facilitate the project in schools.

The project’s programme is run over eight weeks and can be delivered in both primary and secondary schools. The school itself refers 8-12 pupils to take part in the project at a time and over the course of 8 weeks. The programme covers topics such as beliefs, mindset, self-esteem, social media, dreams and aspirations and goal setting.

The Diocesan Director of Education Beccie Morteo said, “Mental and emotional wellbeing support is a priority for our schools across the diocese. Through high quality training for volunteers and positive partnerships we have the opportunity to make a real difference. We hope that Flourish will offer a practical and sustainable way for churches to directly support and empower children and young people.”

This programme reaches to the very heart of an ever-developing crisis within young people’s lives.

The Flourish Project brings together interactive and creative activities, discussion, videos, and reflection which are designed to bring uplifting and inspire confidence in each of the topic areas. For example, in the Cards of Awesomeness task, each young person rights something positive or affirming for someone else in the room. From this exercise, by the end of the eight weeks each young person has eight positive things that their peers see in them to look back on.

One student from Cyfarthfa High School, Merthyr Tydfil, said of the programme, "Flourish has had a really positive impact on me, I was excited to come every week. The Cards of Awesomeness gave me a confidence boost each week, I would want all my friends to do the project."

Emilia Stevenson from the Diocese of Llandaff’s Young Faith Matters team has been integral to bringing the project to the Llandaff area.

She said, “My hope is that we will be able to deliver the Flourish Project across the diocese and see young people's lives impacted and wellbeing renewed. I believe all young people are entitled to a wellbeing education and support.

“Coming out of the Covid pandemic, the need for this support has only exacerbated. This is a need not all schools have the capacity to meet; as the Church it is our calling and privilege to be able to support this need, to come alongside young people and have open and meaningful conversations about the things that we all struggle with in our lifetimes.”

Welsh Parliament/Senedd Cymru, said in May 2022, “The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the mental health and emotional well-being of children and young people, according to academics…

“The Senedd’s Heath and Social Care Committee’s inquiry is a reminder of the importance of a whole family/whole system approach to tackling the epidemic around mental health in children and young people, including the role of society and communities.”

Emilia said, “The Flourish Project is an excellent resource that supports schools and their students to navigate wellbeing on an individual and community level. It gives an opportunity to really show young people that they are unique, purposefully created and loved so they start to love themselves as Jesus loves them.”

If you would like more information about volunteering or getting your Ministry Area or local school involved, please email Emilia at emiliastevenson@churchinwales.org.uk.