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Highland Council announces that young people and teachers in the region are to gain vital mental health support during coronavirus lockdown


By Ian Duncan

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Highland Council headquarters on Glenurquhart Road.
Highland Council headquarters on Glenurquhart Road.

Highland Council and Tree of Knowledge have agreed a partnership to provide mental health and wellbeing support to all pupils and staff across all 200 schools in Highlands, through remote learning and beyond.

The move follows recent announcements by the Scottish Government schools and the uncertainty of the months ahead during the Covid-19 pandemic.

From next week, all primary and secondary schools in Highland will have access to Treehouse - a ground-breaking online learning platform, for use at home or in classrooms, which addresses the challenges of the pandemic and develops positive mental health.

Created by the team of motivation experts at the Dunfermline-based inspirational training company, Treehouse is a fun, engaging and thought-provoking tool, in line with the Curriculum for Excellence: Health and Wellbeing Experiences and Outcomes.

Councillor John Finlayson, the chairman of the education committee, said: “It is very encouraging to see the involvement of all Highland schools in this programme at a time when all pupils and staff will naturally be feeling anxious about many things.

"Everyone in our schools has been coping really well to date but, anything that further supports their resilience and mental health has to be welcomed.

"Having a programme that everyone can access which is delivered as part of the curriculum is really important and I look forward to getting feedback from pupils, parents and staff about how this valuable input is helping to support our learners.”

Nicky Grant, the council's chief officer for education and learning, added: “Treehouse is exactly what our schools need right now. In times of change and uncertainty, our teachers and pupils need a tool that will help them develop resilience, cope with change and manage stress and anxiety.

"Additionally, Treehouse will form an important part of our schools’ remote learning approach. We are excited that this will aid teachers in delivering structured mental health & wellbeing support to pupils during the latest lockdown.

“We’ve built a fantastic relationship with Tree of Knowledge over many years. As a team of former teachers, psychologists, and comedians, they understand education, and never fail to deliver essential messages, with great humour and fun.”

Dougie Clark, a Tree of Knowledge director, said: “We’re delighted to see Highland Council acknowledging the importance of investing in the health and wellbeing of their staff and pupils at this time.

"Treehouse is now in schools in over half of authorities across Scotland, as well as schools in England, Ireland and as far afield as the USA. In March 2020, we transformed our business from 100 per cent face-to-face delivery, to almost 100 per cent online delivery.

"We’ve relished the challenge, and it’s given us an opportunity to share our messages with a far wider audience, at a time when it is vital.”

Treehouse provides more than 100 age-appropriate modules covering pre-school right up to S6, and additional modules for staff. To find out more, visit the website.


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