Happy Place Champion
Happy Place Champion, Changing Our Approach to Mental Wellbeing in School…
A new initiative this year sees one of our Year 6 students acting as our Happy Place Champion. This role was created to help other pupils with their mental wellbeing from a peer to peer perspective. Sometimes the children find it easier to talk to another child about how they are feeling rather than an Adult and so the Happy Place Committee was born! Each play time sees a group of our Year 6 students in purple vests on the field, letting the other children know that they are there if they need a listening ear. The Committee meet every half term and come up with ideas that might help the other children around the school to feel better.
We asked our Happy Place Champion what it means to her to be doing this role.
“The idea behind the Happy Place Champion was to make play times a happy place to be. It’s not always easy being at school, especially as you get older as things get more stressful and you have tests to study for, going to Secondary School etc. We wanted to make sure that everyone gets a proper break and together we can create a happier atmosphere. Everyone deserves a good playtime.
I was asked by Miss O’Sullivan (Deputy Head) if I wanted to do this job alone or to have some help. I love my friends helping me so I decided to create the Happy Place Committee. We meet every half term with Miss O’Sullivan and we come up with ideas that we can implement around the school to help everyone. We wanted to wear the same purple vests as the grown up Listening Ear* and we are now getting our own branded Happy Place Committee lanyards made so that everyone in the school knows who we are and they can feel comfortable to come and speak to us whenever they want.”
How has the idea of the Happy Place Champion and Committee been received by the rest of the school?
“The other year groups seem to really like it and they come up and talk to us and we help them to resolve arguments or help them with their feelings. I think because we are a similar age we can put ourselves in their shoes and relate to them easier than an adult can sometimes as we are living it ourselves.”
What impact do you hope this role has on the rest of the school and what do you have planned for the future for the Happy Place Committee?
“We want all children to feel happy. Mental Health is really important because if you keep things inside they can hurt you a lot. That’s why I love St David’s because we are given the opportunity to talk about how we feel. I didn’t have this at my last school. We want to get the whole school involved in improving our mental well being. Some of our ideas include a mental health and well-being club at lunch times, a safe space for people to go and talk, a whole school assembly about what we do and why it’s important. It would also be good in the future if we could have a Happy Place Champion in other year groups too”
How would you like the Happy Place Committee to be remembered once you’ve left St David’s?
“I would like people to know that we tried our best, that we didn’t just say we’d do something – we actually did it. I hope they remember us as helpful, kind and happy to help them resolve any issues for them. I want future generations to remember that our school is AMAZING for giving us the space to talk about our mental health”
Thank you for that wonderful insight into such a pivotal role here at St David’s Prep. We know you will continue to do a fantastic job at raising awareness and helping all children with their mental well being.
*Listening Ear is one of St David’s duty roles for Staff to act as a point of contact every break and lunch time if children feel they need to speak to someone.*
