Place2Be partners with University of Glasgow to help student teachers create mentally healthy classrooms

25 July 2023

Place2Be has begun a new five-year partnership with the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. The partnership will equip student teachers with the resilience, knowledge and skills to create mentally healthy classrooms.

A full-time Place2Be clinician will be embedded at the University’s School of Education, where they will work across Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Our clinician will help improve learning on mental health in a school community context and empower student teachers to contribute to mentally healthy schools.

We’re absolutely delighted that we’ll now be able to reach more student teachers through our new partnership with the University of Glasgow (ITE) – reaching over a quarter of all new ITE students in Scotland. We know from over 20 years of working in Scotland’s schools that you need to hold the hands of the adults who are holding the hands of the child if you want to make a real difference. You need to intervene early, not only in children’s lives but in the lives of teachers and carers. That’s why we developed our Place2Think reflective practice service and worked successfully with Moray House student teachers over the last four years. Sahir Permall, Place2Be's Director for Scotland

We are very proud to partner with Place2Be to provide this much-needed mental health resource for our student teachers. The benefits of mental health and wellbeing support in school communities are clear. We want to equip future generations of Scotland’s teachers with all the tools they need to help create mentally healthy classrooms across the country. Mary Lappin, Deputy Head of the School of Education at the University of Glasgow

The partnership builds on Place2Be's successful partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. Our work at Moray House has shown to have had a positive impact on student teachers by:

improving their wellbeing and reflective capacity
increasing their knowledge and confidence in supporting children and young people's mental health in the classroom.

With the programme extending to the University of Glasgow, over a quarter of all new ITE students in Scotland will benefit from this mental health and resilience-focused resource (Scottish Funding Council, 2023).

An evaluation of Place2e's Initial Teacher Education programme (2021-2022) at Moray House found that:

Place2Think (reflective practice) sessions helped student teachers with their own wellbeing (88% found it extremely or very helpful), and 88% said sessions supported their self-awareness
the partnership helped the majority with their resilience as a teacher (77%) and encouraged a more reflective approach to their practice (70%)
most students (74%) said that the partnership lectures and seminars had added to their teaching methods, and 81% said they helped their understanding of children and young people’s mental health a little or a lot
about half of students (56%) said that they had applied their learning to working relationships with children and young people.

Read the full report of our Initial Teacher Education partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport.

Student teachers have told us how the programme has built their capacity as a teacher to respond to their pupils' behaviour:

"Remembering that behaviour by pupils is often about what they are bringing into the room and not personal to you."

"I managed to support a child with identifying their emotions and what they were feeling, which allowed me to work out how best to support them better."

Moray House School of Education and Sport is so proud of our work as part of this flagship partnership with Place2Be. Our students, alumni, and the classrooms that they work in have benefitted immensely from the insight, support, and education that Place2Be provides.  We are delighted that the School of Education at the University of Glasgow is joining this movement. We are excited to collaborate with them to enhance the mental health of Scotland’s classrooms, children, and citizens of the future. Dr Samantha Fawkner, Deputy Head of Moray House School of Education and Sport

What does the Place2Be ITE programme involve?

A full-time Place2Be mental health practitioner embedded across ITE programmes within the University.
Access to Place2Be's Mental Health Champions - Foundation training programme for student teachers, facilitated by Place2Be practitioner.
Place2Think reflective practice sessions either one-to-one or in small groups.
A range of specialist lectures and seminars, including:
- anxiety
- transitions and new beginnings
- placement support
- building good relationships and inclusion
- emotional preparedness for school-based learning
- Place2Think; reflect and recharge and attachment theory in the context of behaviour.

Learn more about Place2Be's work in Scotland

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