Children’s Mental Health Week

Published 9th February 2026

Written by our Curriculum and Professional Development Manager, Lol Conway. Find out more about Lol here.

Where learning and wellbeing meet

I clearly remember being asked during my training year what I felt would be my career route through teaching: pastoral or academic? At the time, I did not have an answer. After all these years, I still struggle to say which I love more depending on what day it is. Both have shaped who I am as a teacher. With hindsight, of course, I know they are inseparable. Without understanding a child’s mental wellbeing and how it affects their ability to learn, truly effective teaching is impossible.

Emotional safety is the foundation of learning

Children learn best when they feel safe and comfortable, when they believe their teacher likes them and they like their teacher in return. Only within that security can short term memory begin to settle and transform into long term understanding. Emotional safety is not an added extra in education; it is the foundation everything else is built upon.

Why the D&T classroom feels different

Over the years, I have seen how D&T quietly provides that foundation for many of my students. The classroom feels different from the moment they walk in. The space is larger, more flexible and less desk bound. Students are not confined to rows; they move, gather materials, test ideas and talk through problems. That physical freedom often brings an emotional shift. Shoulders drop. Conversations flow more naturally. Students who can appear guarded elsewhere begin to relax into the environment and, often, into themselves.

There is also something powerful about stepping away from purely book based, desk bound academic work that can dominate much of the school day. In D&T, students engage with real materials. They sand a surface until it is smooth, stitch fabric with care, measure twice before cutting, adjust a piece of code until it works. In those moments, many become deeply absorbed in what they are doing. We recognise this feeling in our own lives when we cook, garden or build something at home. Focused making and problem solving grounds us. For young people navigating complex emotions and pressures, that grounding can be invaluable.

Making, resilience and real confidence

Creating something tangible gives students visible proof of progress. They see improvement in front of them, whether in the accuracy of a joint or the refinement of a prototype. For some, D&T is the first subject in which they experience genuine success. I have watched students who struggle elsewhere stand a little taller because they can say, “I made that.” That sense of achievement strengthens confidence in a way that written feedback alone sometimes cannot.

The design process itself teaches resilience. In D&T, ideas rarely work perfectly the first time. Prototypes fail. Measurements go wrong. Materials behave unexpectedly. Yet this is not framed as failure but as part of the process. Students learn to adapt, refine and try again. Over time, they begin to understand that ability develops through effort and reflection. That lesson extends far beyond the workshop and into how they approach challenges in life.

Collaboration deepens this further. Sharing tools, working in teams and offering peer feedback naturally build communication skills and belonging. Students are connected through shared purpose rather than competition. In a world that can feel overwhelming and uncertain, that sense of purpose brings calm.

For me, the academic and the pastoral are not an either-or choice. In the D&T classroom, they coexist. The making, the thinking and the problem-solving support both learning and wellbeing. When students feel safe, capable and valued, real learning does not just happen more easily; it happens more deeply.

Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 and free resources

Children's Mental Health Week takes place every February. It was started in 2015 to give a voice to all children and young people and to raise awareness of children and young people's mental health. The theme for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 is This is My Place, and the aim is to support the systems around children and young people to help them feel they belong.

Teachers can find free resources to support Children’s Mental Health Week at Place2Be.