This year’s Mental Health Awareness week focuses on the theme of loneliness.
Mental Health Awareness week started over twenty years ago. It serves as a reminder to slow down, think about, discuss and focus on wellbeing.
And, as an education agency, we’re taking the opportunity to address the widespread mental health issues affecting our pupils and teachers.
This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness week is loneliness; its impact on wellbeing and the steps we can take to tackle it. And, in this blog we’ll discuss how your school’s visual environment can have a big and positive impact on mental health.
Vinyl Wall Art for schools can also help pupils feel a sense of belonging and prompt discussions and connection between peers. Read on to find out more…
Loneliness in young people
Young people aged 16-24 report feeling lonely more than any other age group (Source: Samaritans). It’s therefore vital that schools invest in their pupils’ wellbeing and try to create a sense of belonging for all pupils.
The Covid-19 lockdowns created a great deal of uncertainty, anxiety and isolation for many young people. And school closures certainly didn’t help this challenge. Now that schools have reopened, we’re delighted to see many schools investing in their learning environments. And we’re sure that this will play a big part in improving wellbeing and combating loneliness.
Your visual environment
In the medical profession there’s a link between visual environments and mental health.
“Good health and well-being require a clean and harmonious environment in which physical, psychological, social and aesthetic factors are given due importance”
(Source: WHO European Charter on Environment and Health, 1989)
“Environmental enhancements can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing of staff and patients in mental healthcare.” (Source: The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health).
Creating a sense of belonging
As an education design agency, we can’t overestimate the power and value of a rich visual environment. Specifically, as seen in the research above, visual environments can benefit mental health and wellbeing.
At Promote Your School our entire ethos is focused on visual environments in learning settings. We design bespoke Wall Art that directly benefits pupils and teachers.
Many schools ask us to create designs that feature their school values. They know that for pupils, their school values serve as a reminder of the welcoming community they’re part of.
Other schools want to feature motivational quotes or images of aspirational people from around the world, in particular those who have overcome challenges. This reminds pupils that they’re never alone and there are positive role models all around them, not just at school but in the wider world too.
Promote discussion
The Mental Health Foundation says that, “talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled.”
But how do you encourage pupils to open up, share and converse with their peers?
Any natural conversation starter can help – and vinyl Wall Art for schools is a wonderful resource for that. We’ve heard from many teachers at the schools we’ve worked with that our Wall Art really helps get the conversation going, among pupils and staff!
Students will stand beside the extra large format designs and discuss what they can see. They’re often curious, enthused and animated about the images, quotes and sheer scale of the Wall Art.
This naturally leads to discussion between classmates and teachers, which is great for connecting pupils and stimulating further conversations.
Want Wall Art for your school?
We’ll tailor your Wall Art designs to your unique goals, preferences and budget. If you’d like to focus on mental health and wellbeing, we can share examples of projects we’ve completed that specifically target this area.
But, as we design everything bespoke and in-house, there’s no limit to what we can create for your school!
Contact us to find out more.
