That the Board receive a verbal update from Teresa Salami- Oru, Lead Consultant in Public Health, Strategy and Commissioning.

 Teresa Salami-Oru, Consultant in Public Health gave a verbal update on the Building Resilience in Primary School Children conference held in January 2018. The Board was reminded that the 2017 Year of Mental Health action plan had three core pillars: embedding mental health in policies, building resilience in children & young people and strengthening communities through an asset based approach.

Building resilience in children and young people was important as it enabled them to remain mentally well and stable. By being resilient they were able to bounce back from adversity and confidently respond to difficult situations.

Putting this into further context the Public Health Consultant explained that in an average class of about thirty students, three would have a mental health problem, seven would be experiencing bullying and six self-harming. By being resilient young people stood a better chance of dealing with these challenges.

Evidence shows that schools have key opportunities to build resilience in children and young people, and there are a number of ways they can do this. Over the last year, partners had worked to build resilience in young people by offering Mental Health First Aid training to local schools, Pep Care training, strengthening the PHSE network and through the work of the Wellbeing Teams. However it was felt that in order to fully understand what else could be done to build resilience in young people, parents, carers and teachers needed to be consulted.

The Royal Borough facilitated the conference to host discussions with stakeholders and present good practice. Out of this conference it was found that there was a greater need for an “all schools” approach to promote resilience in children. The Board were informed that a theme that proved to be very helpful was the link between physical education and wellbeing.

The Board were informed that Cookham Rise School had discussed at the conference details and benefits of the “daily mile” which had proved to be a key factor in improving the mental wellbeing of their students. Both students and teachers were able to support and promote mental wellbeing through the promotion of physical exercise.

ACTION- For the Cookham Rise School, “daily mile” video link to be circulated to all members.

Next steps included the identification of funds for schools in the Royal Borough to have tracks within their schools to encourage the daily mile as a standard.  A targeted approach was discussed, focusing on primary schools in areas of relatively high excess weight.  The board was advised that there was an upward trend in year six excess weight. Members queried what would happen with areas that had limited or no funding and what could be done to promote the “daily mile” in these schools. Further work would be carried out within the Developing Well sub group. Board Members discussed that consideration to alternative options to the dedicated tracks be given as the individual cost of a track was £16,000 and could prove to be prohibitive.

While each track was £16,000, the Consultant in Public Health reminded the board that this was relatively less than the current costs of treatment for children and young people with weight related diseases. Members discussed the need for ambassadors within schools for example promoting the nomination of a staff member or pupil for continued uptake of the daily mile.

ACTION- That a letter be written to local employers encouraging physical activity or a commitment to a similar physical activity.