All Highland young people & teachers gain vital mental health support in lockdown
In light of the recent announcements for Scotland’s schools and the uncertainty of the months ahead, The Highland Council and Tree of Knowledge have agreed a partnership to provide mental health and wellbeing support to all pupils and staff across all 200 schools in Highland, through remote learning and beyond.
From next week, all primary and secondary schools in Highlands will have access to Treehouse; a groundbreaking online learning platform, for use at home or in classrooms, which addresses the challenges of the pandemic and develops positive mental health.
Created by the team of motivation experts at Tree of Knowledge, the Dunfermline based inspirational training company, Treehouse is a fun, engaging and thought-provoking tool, in line with the Curriculum for Excellence: Health & Wellbeing Experiences & Outcomes.
In this pioneering move, The Highland Council are the first authority to provide this mental health & wellbeing support to staff and pupils authority-wide. Cllr John Finlayson, Chair of Education Committee said: “It is very encouraging to see the involvement of all Highland schools in this programme at a time when all pupils and staff will naturally be feeling anxious about many things. Everyone in our schools has been coping really well to date but, anything that further supports their resilience and mental health has to be welcomed. Having a programme that everyone can access which is delivered as part of the curriculum is really important and I look forward to getting feedback from pupils, parents and staff about how this valuable input is helping to support our learners.”
Nicky Grant, Executive Chief Officer for Education and Learning for The Highland Council added: “Treehouse is exactly what our schools need right now. In times of change and uncertainty, our teachers and pupils need a tool that will help them develop resilience, cope with change and manage stress and anxiety. Additionally, Treehouse will form an important part of our schools’ remote learning approach. We are excited that this will aid teachers in delivering structured mental health & wellbeing support to pupils during the latest lockdown.
She continued: “We’ve built a fantastic relationship with Tree of Knowledge over many years. As a team of former teachers, psychologists, and comedians, they understand education, and never fail to deliver essential messages, with great humour and fun.”
Dougie Clark, Director at Tree of Knowledge, says: “We’re delighted to see The Highland Council acknowledging the importance of investing in the health & wellbeing of their staff and pupils at this time. Treehouse is now in schools in over half of authorities across Scotland, as well as schools in England, Ireland and as far afield as the USA. In March 2020, we transformed our business from 100% face-to-face delivery, to almost 100% online delivery. We’ve relished the challenge, and it’s given us an opportunity to share our messages with a far wider audience, at a time when it is vital.”
Treehouse provides over 100 age-appropriate modules covering pre-school right up to S6, and additional modules for staff.