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Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing in Wales

Free training to learn how to equip Welsh learners with knowledge, skills and understanding around mental health, safety and how to access support.

Cymraeg
A male teacher sitting next to two secondary school children pointing at a textbook, smiling.

About this programme

Funded by the Welsh Government, Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing will provide mental health and wellbeing support in every maintained school in Wales between 2026-2029.

The programme includes a curriculum-based mental health approach for primary and secondary schools. The main aim of the programme is to provide universal access to experiences, knowledge and skills that children and young people need to be mentally healthy.

We are adapting the programme for use in Welsh schools and supporting delivery in Years 5 and 7 across Wales over the three years. This also includes support for school leads to integrate the programme into a whole school approach and implementation and sustainability support, including a legacy of Welsh trainers. Find out more about how the programme will be evaluated.

Practitioners are trained to deliver eight lessons to increase learner skills around safety, mental health and wellbeing and how to access appropriate sources of support.

To hear the latest news and updates about this programme, please sign up to our Schools in Mind newsletter and select ‘Wales’ as your region.

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Why join this programme

Data from the Schools Health Research Network indicates that around 30% of primary school learners and 35% of secondary school learners in Wales have either elevated or clinically significant emotional difficulties1,2. Recent research findings also indicate that there has been an escalating picture of mental health problems in the past two decades3.

Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing was the most promising of several mental health interventions for schools trialled through Education for Wellbeing, a randomised control trial led by Anna Freud and UCL that involved more than 30,000 learners in schools across England. The approach was found to improve intended help-seeking for mental health difficulties.

Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing has been developed by Anna Freud for primary and secondary schools across Wales. Funded places are available for every primary and secondary maintained school in Wales.

Aims of this programme

The overall aim is to improve learners' skills around safety, mental health, wellbeing and accessing sources of support.

This model is influenced by the Protective Behaviours approach but focuses specifically on mental health, including:

integrity

Safety awareness

Identify what feels safe or unsafe.

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Support networks

Identify support networks for learners.

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Emotional regulation

Recognise, understand and manage feelings.

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Coping strategies

Identify coping and help seeking strategies for learners.

compassion

Stigma prevention

Challenge stigma around mental illness.

Roisin McEvoy, Head of Training and National Programmes - Schools, headshot.

Hear from the experts

Roisin McEvoy, Head of Schools Training and National Programmes at Anna Freud, said:

“We are incredibly excited that every single maintained school across Wales will access this programme, which is grounded in research and designed to help prevent mental ill health. With around 1 in 5 children in Wales estimated to have a diagnosable mental health condition, it is more important than ever to provide early support in schools.

“This approach builds the wellbeing of learners by normalising everyday emotions, like stress and sadness, and helps them to develop strategies for managing feelings and supporting others. It also shows where and how to get more help if needed. We very much look forward to working with the Welsh Government over the next three years to roll this out in schools and support children and young people across the country to thrive.

"The Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing programme has a strong track record in helping learners understand their own mental health and vitally, knowing where to turn when they need support. By making it available in every school, we are taking a real step forward in giving every child the skills and confidence they need to thrive."

Upcoming training

Interested in commissioning training for your school or college?

We work with schools and education settings to deliver bespoke versions of this training. Get in touch with our dedicated team to discuss your needs.

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