Welsh Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, joins Place2Be at tenth anniversary event in Wales

28 October 2019

On Wednesday 23 October, Place2Be were delighted to be joined by Welsh Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, at an event to mark our tenth year of delivering services in Wales.

Kids and teachers

This year marks 10 years since Place2Be first started working with schools in Wales. To mark the occasion, Place2Be hosted an event at The Culture and Media Centre Loudon in Cardiff.

School staff, counsellors, parents, partners, supporters and government representatives joined us at the event to discuss good practice in developing mentally healthy schools. We were also joined by a panel of young people sharing their thoughts on mental health provisions in Wales.

“There was no denying that some pupils needed more support than we could provide... so we bought in Place2Be a year ago and what a difference it has made... I’ve observed huge improvements in the wellbeing of our pupils”. She noted that at Peter Lea, her and her teachers have benefitted from Place2Think sessions where they can talk about their concerns'' Emma Gough, Head Teacher at Peter Lea Primary

Wales Event Kids Panel

Our panel of children from local Place2Be schools then sat down with School Project Manager, Vicky, to talk about what children worry about and how worrying can make them feel and behave. When asked about the difference that Place2Be has made in their school, Callum from Gabalfa Primary said: “I think everyone at school would agree that if Place2Be wasn’t in our school we be a completely different person - we wouldn’t talk to anyone, we wouldn’t have friends, we wouldn’t be the same”.

Wales Event Kids And Kirsty

After meeting the children and young people, Welsh Education Minister Kirsty Williams took to the podium to talk about her plans for improving mental health provisions in schools across Wales.

“Growing up today is a really challenging thing for many children... that’s why in Wales we are recalibrating our education system to make sure there is a balance between learning and wellbeing... placing wellbeing at the heart of education in Wales. What we know from listening to children like we have done this evening is that there is a real need... young people want to develop their life skills, to have the opportunity to develop their mental health and wellbeing, and to build resilience... It’s only by working together - individual schools, government, organisations - that we can make sure that each of our children get the support that they need in schools” Kirsty Williams, Welsh Education Minister

As the event drew to an end, Kirsty and our CEO Catherine Roche were delighted to award plaques to our longstanding schools in Cardiff; Gabalfa Primary School, Grangetown Primary School, Moorland Primary School, Peter Lea Primary School, Tredegarville C.I.W. Primary School and Windsor Clive Primary School.

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