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Burnley FC in the Community has launched a Schools’ Mental Wellbeing Project – a borough-wide initiative that will see the Clarets' official charity place a full-time mental health worker in five Burnley secondary schools for the next three years.

A Government-funded study in May this year provided alarming statistics showing that teenage girls are particularly vulnerable to mental health difficulties. NHS figures showed a sharp increase between 2005/06 and 2015/16 in the number of girls under 18 admitted to hospital in England because they had self-harmed by cutting (up 285%), poisoning (42%) or hanging themselves (331%).

With overall statistics showing that 50% of mental health problems are established by the age of 14, the aim of the project is to offer sustained mental health support to young people in Burnley.

The hope is that the work will also forge a lasting, positive change both in attitudes to mental health and outlooks for young people living with varying mental health conditions.

A mental health worker will be placed in post at Blessed Trinity RC College, Burnley High School, Shuttleworth College, Sir John Thursby Community College and Unity College.

Each worker will offer one-to-one support to pupils, as well as facilitating group lessons focussed on building resilience.

Ruth England, Headteacher at Shuttleworth College said: “In a landscape where mental health issues are having a greater and greater impact on the lives of our young people, it is very exciting and heartening to be part of initiatives such as this.

“The opportunity to have a mental health worker in our school will greatly increase our capacity to better support young people in our communities. We are thrilled to be a part of it.”

Neil Hart, Chief Executive Officer of Burnley FC in the Community said: “We wanted to put mental health at the top of our agenda for the season and so made the strategic decision to allocate 100% of the funds from our PL/PFA funding for 2018/19 into mental health provision.

"We are very proud of this revolutionary piece of work we’re carrying out with the collaborative support of the Premier League, PFA, Burnley Borough Council, East Lancashire CCG and with local schools. 

“Some of the statistics around mental health are shocking. We want to be part of changing those prospects for our young people – it’s time to stop overlooking all these unsettling numbers and instead, give them the help they clearly need.

“We hope that the service the pupils will receive from our mental health workers will change attitudes to this issue; for the good of our young people and our whole community.”

 

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