Anna Freud

29/09/2025

We asked students and members of a youth voice group to share what works for them when looking after their mental health.

What’s your favourite way to support yourself?

20/09/2025

Yesterday was Youth Mental Health Day and this year, the theme was ‘share support.’

These students are part of a peer support group in their school called Youth Voice. We chatted with them to see how the group helps them.

Do you work with young people? If you want to know more about setting up a peer support group for them, check out our latest blog.

19/09/2025

Today is Youth Mental Health Day! This year, the theme is ‘share support.’ 🫶🏼

Evidence suggests one effective way to support young people is through peer-to-peer support, so we asked our trainer Monisha to share her tips on how to set up a peer support scheme.

Read more about the training we offer led by Monisha and our other experts in our new blog: https://orlo.uk/y9hhV

19/09/2025

It’s Youth Mental Health Day and this year, the theme is ‘share support.’

We asked students and members of a youth voice group to share ways they’ve helped a friend with their mental health.

What’s your favourite way to support a friend?

18/09/2025

Do you work in a school or college? Do you want to start a peer support scheme for your students?

Kerry Whitehouse is a Senior Mental Health Lead and School Engagement Development Manager from the West Midlands with years of experience doing just that.

We sat down with her and she shared these key ways to make peer support work.

Head to our website to read Kerry’s full blog and hear about her school’s wellbeing journey: https://orlo.uk/Pnhls

17/09/2025

It’s National Inclusion Week – a moment to champion inclusivity, equity and the celebration of diversity at work 🫶🏼

We’re always learning how we can improve and make everyone feel included at work – and the biggest part of that is our diversity networks.

They:
🏳️‍🌈 provide support and direction around equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives in line with our EDI strategy.
🤎 amplify diverse and underrepresented voices and provide a critical lens to our work with children, young people and families.
📢 provide a safe environment for colleagues from underrepresented groups to voice lived experiences with a view to effect change and understanding within Anna Freud and beyond.

What would you like to know about our staff networks? Let us know in the comments!

15/09/2025

🌎 There’s still time to share your views…

The Compass Project, from the Climate Cares Centre at Imperial College London, is running a short survey to understand how climate change and sustainability are taught, and how this links to young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

They’re keen to hear from:
🟣 Students aged 16–29
🟣 People working with students in England

By taking part, you’ll be helping to advocate for the change you want to see in education. Staff may also wish to share the survey with their students.

👉🏽 Have your say in the survey here (open until 30th September).

🔎 Explore the project more:

Guiding minds and inspiring action in climate change education

15/09/2025

We’re excited to be partnering with the Mayor of London to help young people in London!

We will focus on building a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, including an emphasis on prevention and early intervention, helping schools to develop:

💜 practical skills and knowledge
💜 expertise on supporting neurodivergent young people
💜 the creation of more inclusive and supportive environments for young people

Our Director of Schools, Jaime Smith, said:

“By empowering staff with the tools to develop the right whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing for their setting, along with supporting them to share learnings throughout their borough, we can help to protect against mental ill health. A whole-school approach involves building supportive relationships and a sense of belonging throughout the school community as well as ensuring more targeted support is available for those that need it, creating the conditions needed to help students thrive.”

Read more: https://orlo.uk/0KYya

12/09/2025

Making the move from primary to secondary school can feel tough for many young people.

They might worry about making new friends, finding their way around, having more homework or multiple teachers. School environments can also feel overwhelming for many children, such as those with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).

Read our guide for parents on how to support children who’ve just started secondary school: https://orlo.uk/Kciju

10/09/2025

Our friends at Education Support have created a helpful guide on looking out for the signs that someone might be having thoughts of su***de in your school, and supporting another staff member with these feelings.

Read the full resource: https://orlo.uk/cs8DE

05/09/2025

Calling education staff! 🫶🏼

As summer comes to a close, we hope you’ve had a chance to rest, recharge and enjoy some time for yourself.

With the new academic year now underway, we’re excited to share our mental health and wellbeing calendar for the autumn term.

Inside, you’ll find key awareness days and themes, along with ideas, activities and free resources to support the wellbeing of your pupils, staff and the wider school community.

New this year, we’ve added a wider list of awareness days to spark extra ideas and activities you might want to explore across the term.

Access the calendar here: https://orlo.uk/qSQJP

We hope you find the calendar helpful as you prepare for the months ahead, and we wish you and your pupils a positive start to the year.

04/09/2025

Critical incidents in schools and colleges are events that can be traumatic, and affect a large part of the community rather than one or two people.

Are you a senior leader in a school or college?
Would you take on key leadership roles during critical incidents?

Join our training to equip you with strategies to respond to critical incidents that affect your broader school or college community: https://www.annafreud.org/training/courses/uk-trauma-council-critical-incidents-in-education-communities/