‘YOUTH SOCIAL PRESCRIBING’ NOW TACKLING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS THROUGH CHILD-FIRST COACHING AS NHS WAITING LISTS SOAR

Across the UK more children than ever need mental health care as NHS figures show nearly half a million are awaiting treatment.

On National Social Prescribing Day, there is an increasingly significant role being played by coaches in local communities delivering socially prescribed physical activity to support the mental, physical, and emotional health of young people – amid a concerning increase of poor mental health and growing waiting lists for mental health services.

‘Social prescribing’ has traditionally been used to help adults and older adults find non-medical ways of combating loneliness and stress, but now in young people, mental health and emotional wellbeing is the most common reason for referrals.

However, an emerging approach of ‘youth social prescribing’, pioneered by leading youth charity StreetGames through the the creation of a Youth Social Prescribing Network is now directly supporting many children and young people referred to mental health services through physical activity programmes which focus on a child first coaching approach.

The charity is part of The Children’s Coaching Collaborative (CCC) a collective of like-minded organisations, who want to create a nation of child-first coaches. Child-first coaching, where coaches focus on championing every child’s voice, choice and journey in sport and physical activity, aims to ensure positive experiences for every young person through the people who know them best – their coaches. The approach is seen as critical to increasing enjoyment levels for all children and young people and helping them stay active for life but has particular benefits for young people experiencing poor mental health.

As part of activity sessions, coaches are now collaborating actively with young people referred by medical professionals to co-create activity that helps them as an individual, embedding a child-first approach to best understand their individual needs and respecting their voice.

The number of children referred to emergency mental healthcare within the UK has soared by more than 50% in three years – and inclusive physical activity, delivered by coaches that take a child-first approach and priortise wellbeing is now helping young people manage their mental and emotional health.

Chair of the CCC and StreetGames Director Hannah Crane reflected on the incredible positive difference made to the lives of young people:

“The Play Their Way campaign is celebrating the profound positive impact child-first coaches can make on the lives of young people. Youth social prescribing is a significant area where a huge difference is being made for our children and young people – in this form of physical activity, it is even more essential that coaches are taking a child-first approach which can potentially help reduce hospital admissions and presuure on the NHS.

“StreetGames have founded our Youth Social Prescribing Network with the aim of delivering the approach for children and young people across every Primary Care Network. We are proud to support and celebrate the amazing people delivering physical activity that gives every young person a voice and a choice.

“Via the Play Their Way campaign, we want to further unlock the potential of coaches to directly support the wellbeing of children and young people – and that starts with taking a child-first approach.”

Aysha, a session coach focused on taking a child-first approach when supporting young people with varied and complex needs, said:

“It’s vital that we treat all children as indivduals and our ethos is always focused on asking the children what they want to do, having a loose plan in place but knowing that if the plan changes, that’s great because it means the children are doing what they really want to do. This makes them much less likely to disengage.

“Socially prescribed activity for young people can have a huge impact, but we need to deliver it in the right way. Every child is different, every child has the right to be listened to. Getting them active is massively beneficial for supporting their mental health, at a time where this is needed more than ever, and I’m proud of the role our coaches, and coaches across the nation can make.”

One young person shared the profound positive effect her coach has had on her after taking part in weekly sessions, saying:

“I originally went to the sessions because I was struggling with my well-being. I suffered from social anxiety and was self-harming, I did not have a good self-imagine about myself or who I was. My coach even visited my high school a few times, and was my biggest supporter at the time even when I thought my world was crashing down.

“She helped me holistically with my mental well-being by keeping me busy and helping me get out of the house. She played a pivotal role in supporting me as an individual by offering me opportunities to prosper and achieve. Her unwavering encouragement, her genuine care and her thoughtfulness cannot even be transcended into words.”

To learn more about the campaign, access resources and sign up to join the biggest grassroots movement to transform the way we coach our children and young people visit www.playtheirway.org.