Reading Youth Cabinet recently carried out a survey on mental health issues amongst young people in Reading, to which 449 people responded. One of the concerns that arose from the survey was the low levels of understanding of mental health issues, with 54% of respondents indicating that they would not be able to identify the symptoms of mental health, whilst 67% stated that they had not been educated on mental health.
During the meeting, Ellie and Jessica explained to Alok that mental health was not sufficiently covered at school and suggested that it could perhaps be included during PSHE classes.
Following the meeting Alok agreed to write to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for the Department for Education to ask whether the Department has any recommendations on how schools could fit awareness of mental health into their curriculums. Alok also agreed to write to Julian Emms, the Chief Executive of Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust to ask about the prevalence of mental health issues amongst young people locally and to coordinate a meeting with representatives from local schools to find out if more can be done to standardise mental health education.
Alok Sharma said: “I was pleased to take up this issue, which the Reading Youth Cabinet have clearly spent a lot of time researching. I am also looking forward to attending a meeting of the Reading Youth Cabinet in the near future and discussing this further with all of its members.”
Ellie Emberson said: “It was great meeting with Alok and discussing the current issues of mental health education in 12-18 year olds. With Alok's support we will be able to progress further with our campaign. All youth cabinet members are looking forward to meeting and discussing further with Alok in the upcoming future.”
Last year, the Reading Youth Cabinet held a workshop, providing teenagers from different local schools with education on mental health. They are planning on holding a second workshop in October, which will again be supported by health professionals.
Reading Youth Cabinet is also campaigning to improve current careers advice, which they believe is inconsistent across schools and are currently distributing surveys to find out more about the current careers advice being provided. Once results have been collected, Reading Youth Cabinet intend on making a professional video with the help of MI Media, to be sent to the Department for Education to outline their issues of concern.
If you want to get involved with the Reading Youth Cabinet, you can tweet at @RYC_UK or email rycchair@hotmail.co.uk
Photo: Alok Sharma with Ellie Emberson and Jessica Rapley
