Mental health in schools in Scotland
We were delighted to have offered our Skills for Life mental health promotion programmes free of charge to primary schools across Dumfries and Galloway from 2019 to 2023. This was thanks to funding from the Kavli Trust - the Kavli Trust owns the Castle McLellan pâté factory in Kirkcudbright, and they are generous supporters of good causes in the UK and abroad.
As well as running our Zippy’s Friends (for 5-7 year-olds) and Apple’s Friends (for 7-9 year-olds) programmes, Dumfries and Galloway primary schools were among the first in the world to run our programmes for children aged 9-12. Passport, for 9-10 year-olds and SPARK Resilience, for 10-12 year-olds.
We also worked with schools to develop and test additional resources for the years when children were not involved directly in a programme. In addition, we offered our adaptation of Zippy’s Friends to special schools and schools with specialist resource provision, ensuring that children with autism, and other additional needs, did not miss out on good mental health.
We wanted to offer extra support to some of the most vulnerable children. That’s why we collaborated with local organisations to adapt our programmes for looked-after children, young carers and refugee groups.
This was a unique opportunity to have offered joined-up mental health support to children across the primary age range and to learn more about the combined impact the Skills for Life programmes can have. What we learnt and developed in Scotland, thanks to funding from the Kavli Trust, will impact the programmes across the UK and shared with our partner organisations in over 30 countries around the world.
We worked in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council to reach the schools. Council staff worked alongside us to recruit and support schools, and plan and deliver training. We benefitted from their local expertise while our programmes enhanced the work they were already doing with schools to promote children’s mental health.
- See the Evaluation Report Summary.
- Watch the Evaluation Video
