Friday Headlines

14 May 2021

All this week, 10-16 May 2021, has been Mental Health Awareness Week. At EHS, we take our responsibility as ‘parentis in loco’ extremely seriously and the well-being and mental health of the girls in our care underpins the school’s ethos in every way. It isn’t, however, an issue limited to staff. Well-being and positive mental health need a whole-school approach so that they become part of a culture where students, as well as staff, take ownership and play an active role.

 Last term we appointed our new Leadership Team for the next academic year – an agonising decision given that all seven of our shortlisted candidates were truly outstanding. Two girls in particular demonstrated such exceptional understanding of the issues around safeguarding and mental health faced by young people today, that we decided to create two new roles for the Sixth Form Committee to focus specifically on those areas and provide a link between younger pupils and trusted adults.

We are thrilled, therefore, to announce that Maryam and Zahra in Year 12, will become our very first Heads of Pastoral Mentoring. And they have big plans! One of the first things they intend to do is to recruit a team of student Wellbeing Champions across the school whose job it is to raise awareness of the issues, listen to peer feedback and ensure that pupils know what routes to follow should they have concerns. They will launch a dedicated student newsletter featuring articles and activities designed to promote positive mental and physical well-being, as well as instigate weekly drop-in sessions. Run by students for students, these drop-in sessions will be themed each week around key issues such as exam stress, friendship and personal safety. 

As Mental Health Awareness Week draws to a close, we can’t wait to see how Maryam and Zahra’s work will complement the already strong pastoral programme we have in place here at EHS. Watch out for updates on our social media pages and in Friday Headlines about their progress.