Schools Come Together For Kids Wellbeing Project

The speed of young life…

ress release from Greystones primary schools initiative It Takes A Village, issued on Friday, April 28th 2023…

It Takes A Village initiative aims to support children’s positive wellbeing. Fundraising plan to recruit Play Therapist to help equip children, parents and teachers in school.

A surge in the number of young children suffering from levels of anxiety has prompted the creation of a community-wide initiative involving all primary schools in the Greystones and Delgany catchment area of County Wicklow.

It Takes A Village is a community-led positive well-being initiative borne out of concerns expressed by teachers of worrying levels of anxiety amongst children attending primary schools in Greystones and Delgany.

The initiative, led by Rachel Harper, Principal of St. Patrick’s National School in Greystones, seeks to build a community of services to assist children, families and teachers in need of help with issues around anxiety in young children in the eight primary schools in the catchment area.

Principal Harper in situ

“In the last few years it was not that unusual to have had individual pupils presenting with anxiety for which they were accessing external support,” says Harper. “However, the level of anxiety we are now facing in our primary schools is unprecedented.

“Children have been at the centre of a lot of the disruption and change that we’ve all experienced in recent years. The advancement of social media further exacerbates their exposure and understanding of some of the current societal issues. In the local school environment, we are noticing that there is an increase amongst children at a primary level dealing with anxiety.

“In particular children as young as 10 years of age are struggling with what would have been considered teenage issues in earlier years.”

According to Ms Harper ,school teachers are feeling overwhelmed and unqualified to fully assist and offer adequate support. “Class teachers, SET and SNAs are doing their best to support the wellbeing of all the pupils. Time normally assigned to support children with literacy and numeracy are now used to provide support for emotional wellbeing.

“As non-specialists in this area, trying to support the children and families is also putting unnecessary stress onto the teachers. These are children’s formative years and it is imperative that proper attention is given in order to equip children with the tools that will help them to thrive during their teenage years and beyond.

“We have sent questionnaires to principals, teachersand parents in the eight participating schools to collect data identify challenges and needs that require immediate priority.”

The first step of the It Takes A Village initiative is the recruitment of a Play Therapist to work across all eight primary schools in the catchment area of Greystones and Delgany. The play therapist will work to help equip children, parents, teachers and principals with the tools to navigate their way through the many challenges society and primary schools are experiencing.

The wellbeing of the children is at the centre of the It Takes A Village initiative. It will be a platform where parents, teachers and local community group members, sports coaches, etc can share experiences, learn new techniques, interact with like-minded people and equip themselves with the tools and resources they need to help support their children’s wellbeing.

It Takes A Village will be managed by a committee of community members, local school principals,public representatives and local medical representatives. The initiative is supported by the principals of the three secondary schools in Greystones – Temple Carrig School, St. David’s Holy Faith and Greystones Community College.

Rachel Harper goes on to say, “The Department of Education already recognises the importance of early intervention for learning support and the positive effect that has to ensure students reach theirfull potential. It is time now for the focus to be on mental health and the importance of early intervention.

“Children’s wellbeing is our concern, as schools are seeing an increase of behaviour issues in response to some of the challenges that young children experience in their lives. We are not trying to solve the issues – however, by launching the It Takes A Village initiative, each of us can help in our own way, and together we can make a real difference now in our community for our young people.”

The launch of the It Takes A Village community initiative will take place on Friday, May 12th at 8pm in the Whale Theatre, Greystones. It will hear views from school principals, medical professionals, counsellors, political leaders and other community members, including the Greystones Town Team.

Guest speakers on the night will include Louize Carroll, psychologist and co-founder of PRISM Therapy Online, TDs Simon Harris and Stephen Donnelly, who will both speak in a personal capacity as parents and as a Government minister. Also in attendance on the night will be Jennifer Whitmore TD. The launch will be facilitated by Andrea Splendori, host of the Social Fabric podcast.

You can find out more about It Takes A Village – and get involved – here.