The Duchess of Cambridge has announced plans to launch a new website later this year, allowing primary school children and staff to get better mental health support

Mentally Healthy Schools, a new online resource, will be available for all primary schools to use. The Duchess of Cambridge recently announced plans to launch the new website later this year to help provide primary schools with access to better mental health information and supporting materials.

Designed to provide teachers with a single, trustworthy source for age-appropriate mental health information, Mentally Healthy Schools will offer free online resources covering a broad range of issues from anxiety to bereavement to eating disorders.

During her visit to Roe Green Junior School in north-west London, The Duchess of Cambridge reportedly spoke of her awareness the amount of responsabilities teachers are asked to take on. “Teachers want to help, but don’t have the time to go hunting for the best information and advice out there. You need resources you can trust. And you need to have easy access to them at all times. That is what this pilot is about.”

With an estimated 1 in 10 young people experiencing a mental health issue before the age of 11, Heads Together report that over half of all mental health problems in life start by the age of 14. Mentally Healthy Schools aims to help provide reliable, accurate information and resources primary school teachers can access easily. Content will cover four main areas:

  • Teaching resources
  • Mental health needs
  • Risks and protective factors
  • Whole school approach

Coordinated and financed by The Royal Foundation, the new website has been developed with charity partners Heads Together; the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families; Place2Be; and Young Minds. Initially designed around the primary school curriculum in England, most resources offered will be universal. Further resources are planned to be released in due course for Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.