Newman University Supports Children’s Mental Health Week

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week and the theme for this year is Express Yourself.

As part of the week Titan Partnerships, of which Newman University is a member, is running an art competition for children across the network with an Express Yourself theme, something which Newman and its Faculty of Education supports and understands the importance of highlighting the topic.

As part of the Primary Teacher Training courses at Newman, the importance of creative subjects such as Art and Design is valued highly and are included as part of the teacher training programmes. Senior Lecturer in Primary Initial Teacher Education, Janet Coles at Newman comments “Often these are areas that our own trainees lack confidence in, but through dedicated sessions we help to develop their skills and build on a passion to develop creativity. Linked to the National Curriculum (2013) we cover a range of skills such as sketching with a range of materials, painting in the style of well recognised artists, developing collage skills through use of a range of different medium, and then expand into other areas such as working with clay, needlework skills and building structures.”

The opportunities provided for trainee teachers at Newman allow them to be creative and often prove to be a very rewarding experiences for the trainees.

Janet continued “Knowing that we will encourage these skills in our trainees and that they in turn will take these skills into the classrooms is extremely rewarding. This element of creativity is so important to encourage so that our younger generations become well-rounded and capable adults valuing not only academic qualities but creative qualities in all of us.”

Newman University also understands the need to ensure mental wellbeing is considered for all, and believes that creativity in subjects for trainee teachers such as Art and Design, has long been recognised as a way to express ourselves freely and to be able to ‘lose ourselves in the moment’ often as an escape from day to day worries.

To find out more about Children’s Mental Health week visit the Children’s Mental Health week website. For more information on the competition run by Titan Partnerships download their poster and for more information about the Teacher Training routes at Newman University visit the course pages.