SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

British RoyalsPrince & Princess of Wales

Duchess of Cambridge to visit two schools in support of Children’s Mental Health Week

The Duchess of Cambridge will be out in support of Children’s Mental Health Week next week when she visits two schools to learn how they support their students, faculty, and parents with mental health.

Kate will first visit Lavender Primary School, where she will meet with teachers and students who are completing Children’s Mental Health Week activities and visit classes that focus on physical and mental health.

Kate will watch pupils participating in the Daily Mile Challenge, and will talk with parents to talk about the “challenges of putting in place good routines and habits around sleep, screen-time, healthy eating and exercise,” per Kensington Palace.

Later in the day, Kate will visit Alperton Community School, where she will meet Andria Zafirakou, the first UK winner of the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, which is given annually to a teacher who has “made an outstanding contribution to their profession,” according to the Prize’s website.

Zafirakou, who teaches arts and textiles, helped redesign Alperton Community School’s curriculum from scratch in recognition of the diverse, multicultural background of the students.

Upon receiving the Prize last year, Zafirakou said, “There is no other job like being a teacher. In what other profession are you selfless and completely devoted to creating the right opportunities for another person to achieve? Being in a classroom and watching a student have an idea and transform it into a formidable outcome is so satisfying and fulfills me.”

Kate will take part in a roundtable discussion with teachers to discuss students’ readiness and teacher welfare and will then meet with the students in the Random Acts of Kindness Club, which focuses on the wellbeing of the school community.

Lastly, Kate will visit one of the school’s art classes and will hear how it enhances the students’ confidence and creativity.

Children’s Mental Health Week was launched in 2015 by Place2Be, one of Kate’s original patronages, to “shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.”

The focus of 2019’s Week is “Healthy: Inside and Out.”

“When we think about healthy living, we tend to focus on looking after our bodies – our physical wellbeing – through food, being active and getting enough sleep,” according to Children’s Mental Health Week’s website.

“However, in order to be healthy overall, it’s important that we look after our minds – our mental wellbeing – too.

“Our bodies and minds are actually very closely linked, so things that we do to improve our physical wellbeing can help our mental wellbeing as well. When we take steps to be Healthy: Inside and Out, it helps us to feel better in ourselves, focus on what we want to do and deal with difficult times.”

Children’s Mental Health Week runs from 4-10 February.

 

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.