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Pupils train as 'wellbeing prefects' to provide support for peers

Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI education correspondent
BBC A young girl is smiling toward the camera. She has blond hair tied up in a pony tail. She is wearing a maroon coloured school blazer and a red and white stripe shirt. Behind her is an open stone courtyard and a number of red brick buildings. BBC
Erin deleted her social media apps to "quiet the noise" during her exam period

A school in west Belfast is going a step further to help its pupils deal with any mental health issues by training student mentors to talk to their peers.

St Dominic's Grammar on the Falls Road also runs classes to help pupils with their wellbeing and self-care.

Sixth former Erin took steps to protect her mental health during her A-Levels, such as deleting TikTok off her phone "to quiet down some of that noise".

She said her school promises to help if pupils share any issues or problems they are going through.

"Not just telling us that everything's going to be ok, but actually showing us a way forward," she said.

A young girl is smiling toward the camera. She has long blond hair. She is wearing a maroon coloured school blazer and a red and white stripe shirt. Behind her is an open stone courtyard and a number of red brick buildings.
Caitlin has been trained to help other pupils as a wellbeing prefect

Caitlin, who is also in sixth form with Erin, is a student mentor.

"Sometimes people feel quite alone," she said.

"It can be quite difficult for pupils to actually make the first move to go to talk to a teacher or a student mentor like me and Erin."

But she said the school had focused on "putting people in a position to take control of their mental health."

The girls wear badges on their uniform which identify them as "wellbeing prefects".

"If a pupil in our year group or a younger year group wants to speak to us we did receive training in how to go about helping that pupil," Caitlin said.

"So being able to be a younger friendly face, to make pupils feel just comfortable in being able to speak to a student."

The student mentors can then consult an appropriate member of staff so that the "double promise" kicks in.

A man with short grey hair is smiling and looking at something to to the side of the camera. He is wearing plastic clear rim glasses, a navy suit jacket, white shirt and navy patterned tie. Behind him is an open stone courtyard and a number of red brick buildings.
Teacher Conrad Thomas said they try to teach pupils to use phones in an "intelligent way"

The student mentors are not expected to "solve" anything but do provide guidance, according to teacher Conrad Thomas.

"Our students are encouraged that if they have an issue and they don't feel comfortable with talking to me about it or one of the other members of staff, we have this team that are very approachable," he said.

"We're not asking that the pupils solve the problems or provide a solution but they can provide guidance and a listening ear.

"If there is a more serious issue they will discuss it with staff and we can take it from there."

The school also provides advice to parents on talking about mental health with their children.

Children 'must think about mental health'

St Dominic's is one of many schools taking part in the Education Authority's (EA) Being Well Doing Well programme, which aims to help pupils with their mental health and wellbeing.

Rathcoole Primary is also taking part in the programme and its principal Emma Quinn told BBC News NI that it was important to get children to think about their mental health from a young age.

"I think sometimes families and adults and carers maybe find it very difficult," she said.

"They think, 'if I talk about these feelings it'll encourage my child to feel a certain way'.

"It won't, we're all human and noticing that you're feeling angry, you're feeling frustrated, it's a part of life and being very open and honest from the early stages, particularly nursery and even before, is absolutely crucial."