MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY AT HOLYROOD

Published date : 25 Apr 2019

On Tuesday (23rd April), Mid-Fife and Glenrothes MSP, Jenny Gilruth, hosted a reception in The Scottish Parliament to mark the 70th anniversary of the Mental Health Foundation.

A recent Mental Health Foundation campaign outlined several recommendations for The Scottish Government going forward. The campaign focused primarily on five main areas to tackle. These were: teachers, leadership and strategy, the curriculum, children, and support services. All of which contribute to creating a mentally healthy, nurturing environment for children and young people to thrive and all must be addressed.

Opening the event, the Fife MSP, and former teacher, Jenny Gilruth, said:

“Our schools have a key role to play in preparing young people for life outside in the school gates. In skilling them with resilience, with confidence and with the attributes they’ll need to cope with an ever – changing economy. These are the fundamental principles of our Curriculum in Scotland.

Our schools should not be an exams factory. They have a vital role to play in supporting the emotional and social well-being of our young people – for pupils and staff.”

Lee Knifton, Director of the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, added:

“We’re delighted that so many people from a range of sectors attended our Make it Count Parliamentary reception.

It shows that more and more people want to take action to safeguard and improve our mental health. We’re passionate about mental health being given a more prominent focus in schools across Scotland. The wellbeing of our young people should be taken as seriously as their academic attainment. Our event demonstrated the wide-ranging support from teachers, parents, pupils and children’s charities who’ve got behind our campaign. We’re grateful to the MSPs who signed the Make it Count pledge and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government to making our recommendations a reality.”

For more information about the work that The Mental Health Foundation does, please visit this link: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work

Ends.

Photo attached – Jenny Gilruth MSP (Sponsor) Clare Haughey MSP (Minister for Mental Health),

From Mental Health Foundation – Mark Rowland, CEO; Toni Giugliano, Policy Manager; Julie Cameron, Head of Programmes

Please let me know if you need any further information.

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