National Children’s Day UK 2022
To celebrate National Children’s Day on Sunday 15th May, we are highlighting our work with young people. This day is about the importance of a healthy childhood and ensuring that children can grow into happy and healthy adults. National Children’s Day UK 2022 is about exploring how we need to create a kinder world.
“This year we are not only promoting kindness, but we are prioritising the need for us to better understand the roots of unkindness – so that together we can create the conditions for a more peaceful and caring world”
We value and encourage autonomy, independence, and self-determination, especially when it comes to children and young people. By not empowering them, we are cultivating apathy, by not skilling them we are empowering helplessness, and by not offering opportunities we are depriving them of a future.
The development of social media and the internet has changed the way young people interact with the world. These technologies have allowed young people to interact digitally more than ever, trying to meet unrealistic expectations and without consequence for the things they say or do online.
Essentially, this has deeply impacted young peoples’ attitudes towards communities, education, relationships, responsibilities, authority, ambition and ultimately expectations of the future.
We challenge these attitudes on our courses, alongside addressing various struggles that people face in day to day life such as low self-esteem, low confidence, difficult circumstances, social exclusion, learning difficulties, lifestyles, and mental health.
Here is an example of how we support the children to overcome barriers in their lives:
SP, 11, needed mentoring support with her transition to high school. She was lacking confidence and self-esteem and felt that she needed someone to talk to about her worries, reduce her anxiety, and help to develop a sense of identity.
The mentoring sessions focused on ambivalence and critical thinking skills and allowed SP to use real life situations to practise what she was learning. The sessions acted as a safe space for SP to openly discuss her issues with confidence and anxiety and gave her someone to talk to and express herself with.
“The sessions were really fun! I’ve got a lot from them and learnt a lot about myself.’ – SP
“I think the work you have done with SP has been hugely beneficial in helping her transition to high school and we are all super grateful!” – Trafford Virtual School
