Medway Mental Health Event

Overview

To mark Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, Medway launched its first annual event in 2024. Each year follows a theme: “My Voice Matters” (2024) focused on self-expression, while “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself” (2025) promoted self understanding and resilience.

The event is designed to be engaging and interactive, showcasing Medway’s mental health and wellbeing support while helping young people understand where to access help. It blends fun, hands-on activities with education, highlighting both specialist services and wider wellbeing opportunities such as sport and creative outlets.

Schools bring small groups of students who would benefit most. Working with a wide mix of organisations—from commissioned mental health providers to holistic activity groups—the event offers sessions aimed at helping children build confidence and
develop healthy coping skills.

Workshops included Creepy Claws, using animal encounters to support confidence and resilience, and Worry Monsters, where children create characters to help recognise and express worries. These playful activities strengthen emotional awareness and practical coping strategies.

A central marketplace allowed students to meet local services, explore support options, and engage informally between sessions.

By improving understanding of what services offer, the event supports early intervention, reduces inappropriate referrals, and promotes positive help seeking. Creating safe spaces for open conversation also reduces stigma and encourages
young people to explore wellbeing activities and peer support.

Service awareness, among both staff and young people, is key to effective signposting. With a focus on prevention and early help, Medway Council designed this marketplace style event to showcase local support and improve understanding of available pathways. Partnership Commissioning embeds the THRIVE framework across this work, ensuring consistent language, shared processes, and collaborative approaches to achieving the best outcomes for young people.

i-THRIVE in Action

Common Language: Children and young people created mood boards to share how they describe their wellbeing and what helps them thrive.

Needs-Led Approach: A bingo activity encouraged engagement with marketplace stalls by prompting pupils to identify services, understand what they offer, and learn how to access them.
Timetables ensured pupils always had a purposeful activity, improving participation in workshops and stalls.
Workshops and stalls promoted open conversations and helped young people explore support options in Medway.

Shared Decision Making: Young people shaped the event through pre-event feedback, influencing the selection of services and activities.
Schools contributed activity suggestions and chose preferred workshops for their pupils.
Mood boards and workshops encouraged self-expression, including the Youth Service Worry Monster activity, which supported the theme “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself.”

Proactive Prevention and Promotion: With increased attendance, more young people engaged with local services and learned skills such as managing exam anxiety.
The event strengthened partnership working across Medway Council teams and external providers, supporting delivery of workshops and enabling professional networking.

Outcome Informed: Workshops and stalls provided information and tools to help children and young people work toward personal goals.
While full impact is difficult to measure, feedback and completed bingo cards indicate the event met its objectives.

Reducing Stigma: The event promoted open, judgement-free discussions about mental health, supporting Medway Council’s efforts to reduce stigma.

Accessibility: Engagement with workshops and stalls helped pupils understand when and how to seek help, which services are appropriate, and how to access support early, reducing escalation to specialist services.

Feedback

There was a significant increase to a 4.5 rating out of 5 between the 2024 and 2025 events. Here are some quotes from young people and schools:

Conclusion and Next Steps

The Children’s Mental Health Awareness event in Medway has proven to be a highly impactful initiative, fostering greater awareness, engagement, and understanding of mental health among children and young people. By centering the event around themes such as “My Voice Matters” and “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself”, Medway Council has created a safe, inclusive, and educational space that encourages self expression, resilience, and proactive mental health management.

The event has demonstrated the value of:
• Embedding collaboration across services and involving young people from the outset.

• Prioritising accessibility and inclusivity so all attendees feel safe and supported.

• Using feedback meaningfully to drive continuous improvement.

• Focusing on proactive prevention, equipping young people with tools and knowledge before challenges escalate.

As the event continues to grow, there is a commitment to developing and refining its delivery. Feedback has highlighted several areas for improvement, which will support the event’s ability to reach and benefit an increasing number of students each year:

• Planning and Communication
Earlier planning and clearer, more consistent communication with workshop providers, schools, and marketplace attendees will help manage expectations and ensure all participants—professionals and young people alike—gain value from the experience.

• Clear Information Requirements
Clarifying what information must be collected before completing sign-up forms will support accurate attendance planning, better accommodation of additional needs, and smoother workshop allocation.

• Larger Venues
As attendance grows, exploring larger or alternative venues will help ensure the event remains accessible and appropriate—particularly in relation to managing noise levels.

The “you said, we did” approach will continue to be used to strengthen future events. This community-led, youth-focused model not only reduces stigma and increases awareness of available services but also empowers young people to take an active role in their mental wellbeing.