Ben West has relaunched his campaign to make mental health first aid training a requirement for every newly qualified teacher, 5 years on from when he took his initial petition, with over 300,000 signatures, to the Prime Minister at Downing Street.
Ben has said:
“Over 1000 school children have died in the 5 years since the UK government told me that plans to make mental health first aid training a requirement for every newly qualified teacher were “vital”.
It’s been 5 years since I delivered my petition for exactly this change with over 300,000 signatures to the Prime Minister at Downing Street.
But despite what they said to me, nothing has been done.
With more young people suffering than ever before, and with the backing of hundreds of teachers, it feels like the right moment to again demand that mental health education is added to the Qualified Teacher Status Standards, meaning every newly qualified teacher will receive a standard education in mental health.
This will create the foundational knowledge in the sector that can support teachers and allow us to then launch all the ambitious projects in schools to help young people’s mental health.
I was convinced this change would be adopted naturally by the department for education, but it has not. So I’m back, with another petition, demanding that we finally give teachers the training they deserve, and start to build a strategy to save the many young lives lost to suicide every year.”
Follow Ben’s Journey and sign the petition here-
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2z0acdscH5/
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/654560