Professor Jo Ellins
Professor of Health Services Research
Professor Ellins is particularly interested in people's experiences of ill health and of accessing and using services and support.
Co-producing a whole school approach with children
A guide and practical activity for schools.
These resources have been designed for schools to involve all pupils in their setting in developing a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
They include an activity to facilitate a creative and inclusive conversation with children about:
- what wellbeing means to them
- what the school already does to support their wellbeing
- what could be done to further develop and improve how the school supports their mental health and wellbeing.
The resources have been co-created with children and staff at:
- Harvills Hawthorn Primary School
- The Linden Primary Specialist School
- The Institute for Mental Health Youth Advisory Group
- The National Children’s Bureau
They have been developed specifically for children aged 7-11 years, but could be adapted and used with both younger and older age groups.
Download the resources
Guide: This provides step-by-step guidance for using the activity to co-produce a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing with all children. It covers how to prepare for the activity, how to run it, and how to use the information gathered to inform your whole school approach.
A guide to co-producing whole school approaches to wellbeing with children (PDF)
Video
Video
This one minute animation can be used to introduce the activity to children.
Warm-up activity sheets
Warm-up activity sheets
This starter activity will help children ease into a conversation about mental health and wellbeing at school by building focus, engagement and a shared language.
Main activity sheets
Main activity sheets
These prompt children to explore how different aspects of school life affect their wellbeing. There are two versions of the activity sheet – one laid out in quadrants, and one in columns – so that children can choose the layout they prefer. Both versions are available in black and white, for the children to colour in and annotate as they work through the activity, and in colour.
Version 1
Version 2
Tell us what you think
We would love to hear about how you are using the guide and activity, and any feedback you and the children in your school might have, so that we can continue to update and improve them. Please email your feedback to Jo Ellins at J.L.Ellins@bham.ac.uk.