Children’s mental health is in crisis. Around 20% of children in the UK are now thought to have a diagnosable mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder. Only one in three of these young people will be able to access NHS treatment and care. Progress has been made with government initiatives to establish mental health support teams in schools, however, currently less than 50% of pupils in schools and colleges in England have access to this support. There is a huge need for evidence-based, free or low-cost, preventative mental health interventions for pupils of all ages.
The Hummingbird Project is a six-week Positive Psychology course for North-West schools, which is delivered in the classroom free of charge by MedEquip4Kids staff and volunteers. The sessions include plenty of fun activities and upon completion, the schools receive a box of resources, including books, sensory toys, and games to help put their learning into practice. We cover the following topics:
- Happiness – what is happiness? What things, people or places make us happy? Can we expect to be happy all the time?
- Kindness – being kind to others and to ourselves. Pupils carry out an act of kindness and report back on how it made them, and the other person feel.
- Gratitude – appreciating the positive aspects of our lives. The class write letters of appreciation to someone who has helped them.
- Mindfulness – slowing down and use all our senses to notice our surroundings.
- Character strengths – being aware of our unique set of strengths and using these in our daily lives. Pupils are given a set of cards and asked to find their top five.
- Resilience – the ability to bounce back from setbacks. Reframing “failure” as opportunities to learn and grow.
- Growth mindsets – understanding that our level of skill or ability at something is not fixed and can improve with practice.
The Hummingbird Project was officially launched in Autumn 2017 by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, who said: “There’s a growing call from young people for more support with their own mental health and wellbeing, their own resilience, to navigate what is out there an increasingly challenging world. That’s why the Hummingbird Project is so right, so of the moment. It’s really answering the call coming from young people.”
Since it began the project has reached over 9,000 pupils at schools in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Every year we see quantitative and qualitative evidence of improvements in wellbeing following the course. We chose the Hummingbird as a symbol for our project because it represents the qualities of balance, persistence, resilience, lightness and enjoying the sweetness (nectar) of life.
