Some great feedback from Action for Children!

Yesterday, Action for Children very kindly arranged a Teams call with our “30 Days Your Way” challenge team following our April fundraiser to provide us with some feedback. A lot of effort went into organizing the call as we were introduced to key staff and were given a presentation on their Bouncing Back Health & Wellbeing programme. We also got a chance to ask questions to pupils from Bryntirion Comprehensive School in Bridgend regarding the benefits of having taken part in the programme.

We were extremely pleased to have been able to raise £2,445 for Action for Children in April and the feedback we received yesterday was absolutely amazing. Debra Thomas, their Children’s Service Manager, told us that our funds would cover the cost of 30 programmes which is brilliant. Bouncing Back is an early intervention resilience building programme which provides group discussion, practical tools and coping skills to enable young people to manage their day-to-day emotional wellbeing and reduces the risk of more intense mental issues. At the end of each programme, each participant receives a Mental Health First Aid Kit, providing them with resources that support them to manage their mood and sustain improvements in their emotional wellbeing.

We found out more about the programme yesterday and some key facts stood out for us:

• The programme has already been delivered to 743 pupils throughout South Wales.
• A total of 14 schools have already engaged with Action for Children to deliver the programme, either on-site or digitally.
• The programme is generally delivered to Year 7, 8 & 9 by the Action for Children facilitators as 2 one-hour sessions.
• This early intervention programme helps AFC staff identify pupils who may need additional support such as Team Talk, a more intensive Health & Wellbeing course.
• 74% of pupils said their confidence had increased following the programme.
• 75% of pupils stated that they knew who and when to turn to someone for support.

Following our April fundraiser, Action for Children asked us to suggest a list of local schools who they could approach to offer the Bouncing Back programme to. After canvasing our staff, we provided a list and some useful contact details, and we are very pleased to see that a few local schools have already expressed an interest.

We are very grateful to the pupils of Bryntirion Comprehensive School for the feedback they supplied yesterday. It has allowed our team to find out more about the programme itself, how it has impacted the pupils and the benefits of being able to identify their trigger points and use the coping skills they have discussed during the programme. Of course, everyone is different but it’s clear to see from the figures that the programme is highly beneficial to a wide variety of pupils, whether they suffer from lack of confidence, anxiety or more personal issues.

Last week, we heard on the news that children wellbeing services were overwhelmed and waiting lists had increased substantially as a result of the pandemic. It also highlighted the fact that early intervention is critical to avoid more intense mental issues. As a team, having the chance to take part in the fundraiser, understanding the impact of the programme and knowing that the funds we have raised will help our local community is very rewarding.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who supported us and made donations. A big thank you to Caryl from Action for Children for organizing the feedback session for us and giving us the opportunity to get direct feedback from the pupils.

Our intention is to carry on organizing regular fundraisers to support the Bouncing Back programme in collaboration with the Ospreys in the Community as part of our Health & Wellbeing pillar. We are currently weighing up our options and trying to get even more staff involved.

Being able to give back to the community is a real mood booster and it’s clear to see that everyone involved in the challenge left the room with a spring in their step yesterday, such a win win outcome for everyone!