Addressing parents at our introductory evenings for the start of the new academic year, I mentioned at the outset that the most important thing was for their children to feel happy at school, because if they were feeling unhappy and stressed then they would not be able to make the most of all that is on offer or fulfil their potential, or indeed enjoy life outside of school to the full.
In the informal part of the proceedings, several parents thanked me for focusing on the happiness and welfare of their offspring, rather than talking about examinations and results.
SecEd’s editor, Pete Henshaw, has made young people’s mental health a priority focus for this year (see http://bit.ly/1nwHj0q). The pressures which today’s young people are facing are huge, not just those of possible unemployment, student debt, academic pressure, body image, peer pressure, sexting, cyber-bullying, self-harming, but also worries about the big issues – the environment, the future of our planet, and whether we are heading for another war.
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