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BSA Conference Mental health – Supporting everyone

Name: BSA Conference Mental health – Supporting everyone
Start: 2025-05-21T09:30:00+01:00
End: 2025-05-21T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Online – Zoom

Wednesday 21 May, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Date: May 21, 2025
Time: 09:30 – 16:00
Cost: BSA Full Member – £235, BSA Additional Full Member – £110, BSA Affiliate Member – £335, BSA Additional Affiliate Member fee – £145, Non-member – £470
Audience: Heads, Deputy Heads, Heads of Boarding, Mental health Leads, Inclusion Leads, Nurses, Health Centre Leads, Boarding and pastoral staff, all staff.
Platform: Zoom (online) – Conference

Course outline:

This virtual conference will address the key themes around mental health in 2025 and consider the wellbeing of the entire organisation, including students, pastoral staff, teaching staff and management. Mental health remains one of the top BSA member concerns, especially following the impact of the pandemic. According to Children’s Society and YoungMinds research, almost 40% of 6 to 16-year-olds have experienced deterioration in mental health since 2017. We know that members are concerned about waiting times for accessing support and varying thresholds of criteria. This conference will consider practical ways that our whole community can feel supported in managing their mental health before it becomes an “issue”.

Training topics will include:

Creating a supportive environment for mental health: focusing on creating a supportive and inclusive environment that promotes positive mental health for students and staff alike. Delegates will learn practical strategies for fostering a culture of wellbeing, including effective communication, implementing anti-bullying measures, and promoting social-emotional learning.
Building resilience and emotional regulation skills: delegates will gain practical insights into evidence-based strategies for developing coping mechanisms, stress management techniques and self-care practices to enhance mental wellbeing. These skills can be utilised by students and staff alike.
Supporting staff: this session will focus on addressing the mental health needs of staff in the demanding school environment. Practical strategies for self-care, stress reduction and creating a work-life balance will be considered. The session will also explore the role of leaders in supporting the wellbeing of their staff.
Mental health leadership: this session will emphasise the importance of leadership in promoting a comprehensive approach to mental health across your organisation and community. Delegates will hear about effective leadership strategies, policies and programmes that foster a whole-school approach to mental health.

Learning outcomes:

Recognising the signs of common mental health issues in children and young people
Early identification and intervention strategies in schools
Promoting a culture of wellbeing and inclusivity
Implementing self-care practices, stress management and coping mechanisms
Creating a supportive work environment
Integrating mental health initiatives in policy and strategic planning.

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VIEW THE PROGRAMME

Programme:

09:15 – 10:15

Supporting Staff Wellbeing

In this practical session, we explore the realities of stress in the teaching profession and help staff identify the early warning signs of burnout. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own wellbeing, personal coping styles and strategies.

Focussing on sustainable self-care and evidence-based approaches, we’ll share tools and ideas that educators can use to protect their mental health, strengthen resilience, and foster a more supportive, balanced working life. 

Chair: David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB
Speaker: Alicia Drummond, Founder, The Wellbeing Hub

10:15 – 10:30

Break

10:30 – 11:15

Supporting pupils: a panel of ideas:

Chair: David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB
Panel:
- Julia Garden, Community Engagement Officer, Young Minds
- Kirsty Ruthven, Lifting Limits
- Iain Mahony, Mental Health Awareness Talks

11:15 – 12:00

What’s working in schools? Discussions from our award winners

Chair: David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB
Panel:
- Andrew Towse, Deputy Head Pastoral, Queen Anne’s School
- Sara Thomas, Assistant Head of School (Wellbeing), ACS International Schools
- Ruth Radlett, Whole School Mental Health Lead & Deputy DSL, Culford School

12:00 – 12:15

Break

12:15 – 13:00

Supporting Staff

This session will focus on addressing the mental health needs of staff in the demanding school environment. Practical strategies for self-care, stress reduction and creating a work-life balance will be considered. The session will also explore the role of leaders in supporting the wellbeing of their staff.

Chair: David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB
Speaker: Dr Silja Litvin, CEO and Founder, PsycApps

13:00 – 13:45

Lunch

13:45 – 14:45

Hear the unheard

As a member of the BSA, and as part of their mission, Yes We Can is committed to support well-being programs and pastoral services within schools across the globe. This session is about how to create trust and connection with pupils, colleagues, parents, guardians, and management by living the core values respect, willingness, openness, and honesty so you can hear the unheard.

Speaker: Piet Jansen, Managing Director, Yes We Can Clinics

14:45 – 15:00

Break

15:00 – 15:45

The power of sleep

This session will focus on why sleep is so important and how it might be different for staff working in a boarding school environment and discussing ideas on how improve sleep quality

Speaker: Alyson O’Brien , Head of Sleep Action

16:00

Conference close

Speakers:

David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB

David is the BSA Director and joined the BSA group in August 2023. He has over 20 years’ experience in boarding schools and has worked in a range of schools in the UK and Africa, alongside being a prep school governor and a trustee of a MAT. Before taking up his post at the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-ed independent school in the South-East.

Alicia Drummond, Founder, The Wellbeing Hub

Alicia is passionate about providing evidenced-based advice to parents, teachers and all those looking after children and young people, so they can be pro-active in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of those in their care. Alicia also works directly with children and young people empowering them to look after their mental health and wellbeing. She draws on the latest research from psychotherapy, psychology and neuroscience, along with her experience of working as an adolescent therapist. Alicia is a BACP accredited therapist, parenting expert, sought after keynote speaker, member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for a Fit and Healthy Childhood, author and a mother. She is regularly sought for her expert opinion by the media. Having worked with schools across the UK for more than a decade delivering webinars, talks and workshops to parents, carers, staff, and pupils; in 2020 Alicia created The Wellbeing Hub. This award-winning platform offers a proactive approach to young people’s mental health and wellbeing by providing evidenced-based support for the whole school community – staff, parents, carers and pupils. The platform is currently impacting more than 130,000 pupils in over 220 schools.

Iain Mahony, Mental Health Awareness Talks

Iain was educated at Uppingham and Manchester University. In 2009, he began working as a personal trainer in Mayfair. He has over 14 years of experience working in the fitness industry, has competed in bodybuilding and has also trained other competitors. Despite appearing confident and successful, Iain was struggling with several personal issues. This led to an increasingly unhealthy pattern of binge drinking and escalating drug use. In 2014, Iain acknowledged his problems and went to a rehabilitation facility in South Africa. In 2018, Iain began speaking in schools. He has shared his personal story with pupils, parents and staff at over 40 independent schools including Eton, Francis Holland, Oakham and Warwick. Iain is now expanding his remit to cover other relevant topics including masculinity and performance enhancing drugs.

Dr Silja Litvin, CEO and Founder, PsycApps

Dr. Silja Litvin is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and the founder and CEO of PsycApps, a leading digital mental health company. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology and experience in both NHS and private settings, she specializes in adult resilience, youth mental health, depression, and anxiety. Silja combines academic rigor with commercial insight. Her award-winning emotional fitness game, eQuoo, is the only game that was featured on the NHS Apps Library and is grounded in clinical research. A Techstars alumna and honorary Research Associate at UCL, she is at the forefront of resilience research as well as digital prevention and early intervention, using gamification and AI to empower young people to take charge of their mental well-being.

Sara Thomas, Assistant Head of School, ACS Cobham

Sara Thomas is the Assistant Head of School, leading on wellbeing, at ACS Cobham. She oversees the boarding houses, medical centre, safeguarding team, student services and the pastoral systems at the school. Originally a languages teacher (French, Welsh, English & Spanish), Sara’s other previous roles include Head of Welsh Baccalaureate, Head of Sixth Form and Deputy Headteacher. She has worked in a variety of schools both in the UK and abroad.

Andrew Towse, Deputy Head Pastoral, Queen Anne’s School

Andy Towse is the Deputy Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead at Queen Anne’s School in Caversham, Reading. With over two decades of experience in education, he has worked in four boarding schools, beginning his career as a PE teacher and Boarding Assistant. Andy also serves as an Independent Schools’ Inspector, contributes to national safeguarding guidance as a member of the Independent Schools’ Council Safeguarding Steering Group and tutored on the BSA Certificate Course for 5 years. Outside of school, he is married with two teenage children and has a lifelong passion for sport.

Julia Garden, Community Engagement Officer, Young Minds

Following Julia’s role at YoungMinds, the UK’s leading mental health charity, in 2015 as a parent/carers helpline adviser, she worked with the Royal College of Paediatrics Child Health and YoungMinds on online resources aimed at parents/carers – MindEd for Families. Julia then set up a parent/carers group in Lewisham. Since 2018 Julia has supported their amazing fundraisers and is also a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.

Piet Jansen, Managing Director, Yes We Can Clinics

Piet Jansen is Managing Director at Yes We Can Youth Clinics, a specialised treatment centre that supports more than 1,400 young people aged 13 to 25 with mental health issues, addictions, and behavioural problems. The treatment programme consists of a 10-week residential treatment programme, followed by a 10-week aftercare programme. Since its inception in 2011, unconditional warmth, safety, and timely confrontation have been pivotal. Together with other young people (referred to as “fellows”) from all over the world, they learn to recognise and acknowledge their problems, ask for help and speak out. In parallel with the child’s treatment, parents/carers take part in an intensive family coaching and counselling programme. During treatment, over 500 highly specialised healthcare professionals, such as youth coaches, psychiatrists, psychologists, experts by experience and medical staff, work hard to help fellows and their families turn hopelessness into happiness.

Alyson O’Brien , Head of Sleep Action