“Sparks” A Well Being Project Erasmus Project

Project Title

“Sparks” A Well Being Project

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

The Sparks: A Wellbeing Project is a strategic partnership project for innovation and best practice between 6 European schools. Chelsea Community Hospital School (CCHS) in London, UK, was the lead partner in this project, working with 5 partner schools in 4 other countries. The schools, which are a mix of hospital and special schools, and mainstream schools are:
1. Chelsea Community Hospital School (UK)
2. Our Lady’s Hospital School (Ireland)
3. Temple Street Hospital School (Ireland)
4. Rákóczi Ferenc Primary School (Hungary)
5. Erich Kästner Schule (Germany)
6. Specjalny Ośrodek Szkolno (Poland)

The project was initially designed to run for 24 months, but was extended by 12 months due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. It began in December 2018 and formally concluded in December 2021, though it is hoped the impact of the project will be far longer lasting than these 3 years and the benefit felt far wider spread than the original participating schools.

The project schools were brought together by a strong interest in mental health, having witnessed a sharp rise in mental health problems in children and young people in our respective countries. The very specific nature of our work with students in hospital schools and in schools with children from deprived backgrounds and/or with special needs has meant that we have always been particularly aware of issues relating to mental health and wellbeing. The project partners believe it is critical for schools to increase their focus on mental health as a preventative measure, to support understanding and awareness among both students and teachers, and intervene before underlying problems escalate. As such, we developed a series of interventions that would allow us to play a role in supporting mental health in our own students, and also for developing resources that will strengthen the education sector more widely.

The project benefitted approximately 6,000 children and young people (approximate numbers due the transitory nature of hospital school pupils on roll) and 210 school staff.

The main objective was that pupils would become aware of mental health issues and become equipped with a toolkit of strategies to help them understand and take responsibility for their own emotional wellbeing. We aimed to promote positive wellbeing in our schools and beyond as a fundamental part of the curriculum and organisational ethos. The project also aimed to develop a network of teachers with expertise on mental health and wellbeing in all age groups/school contexts/settings. Through this partnership, it aimed to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues at a local, national and international level.

There are 6 main results from the project:
1. A Sparks scheme of work in the form of a bank of lesson plans around the theme of mental health and wellbeing for primary and secondary students.
2. Self-help activity journal: young people from both primary and secondary age groups contributed to a journal, which will act as a self-help tool to assist other young people struggling with mental health problems.
3. Training for staff, provided as a means of strengthening our organisations and building on existing specialist knowledge.
4. Sparks project website which showcases work produced, as well as the bank of lesson plans and the digital version of the journal. It allowed schools to share best practice and use each other’s work to inspire their own work. It also signposts young people to specialist organisations in each country, to allow them to access support during a crisis or to help as a preventive measure.
5. Exchanges: the project did not contain mobilities as such, but rather built visits in to the programme for the launch and mid-term conferences, in order to maximise the benefit of the international collaboration.
6. Lessons and other teaching activities: a set of innovative lessons and activities were devised and delivered by the project schools, based on the needs, ages and ability levels of our students.

In terms of impact, the project has proven to be a rich tool for opening up discussion around mental health in our schools, contributing to the destigmatisation of the topic and helping our children and young people to feel less alone. We have developed resources that can be used by the project schools, as well as non-project schools, over many years to come. We worked with a particularly vulnerable group, given that the majority of our students are living with a medical or mental health condition. For this reason, we aimed to make their voice central to our work, and to learn from their first hand experiences.

Project Website

http://Sparkswb.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 55255 Eur

Project Coordinator

Chelsea Community Hospital School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Staatlich regionales Förderzentrum “Erich Kästner”
• Specjalny Osrodek Szkolno – Wychowawczy
• Our Lady’s Hospital School
• Temple Street Children’s Hospital School
• Berettyoujfalui II. Rakoczi Ferenc Altalanos Iskola