Natasha Devon MBE talk on mental health & wellbeing

We were delighted to welcome writer, broadcaster and Mental Health campaigner, Natasha Devon MBE (pictured here with staff and students) to Latymer on the very first day of the new term and school year. 

Natasha is a regular visitor and has delivered many talks and webinars to our parents, students and staff. 

Natasha spoke to our Year 8 & 9 students about ‘Managing Stress and Anxiety’.  She talked about what the pandemic has taught us, and how we are now more flexible as we learn to manage and respond to stress and anxiety. She revisited mindfulness and reminded students to differentiate between those things we have control over and those we do not. She discussed the difficulties many young people and their families have when talking about mental health honestly and without confusion. She provided tips for encouraging those struggling to open up about their feelings, as well as advice in understanding how young people can support each other and when and where to seek further information and guidance. Natasha later addressed our Y9 on how to achieve good mental health to support learning objectives and outcomes. Her talk “ Why looking after your mental health can make you cleverer” addressed motivation, procrastination, organisational skills, emptying our ‘stress bucket’; and encouraged our students to turn to sport, relaxation and creative activities to enhance their mental health.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Natasha come and speak with our students as part of our PSHE and pastoral programme,” said Salli Parra, who coordinates Latymer’s PSCHE Speaker programme. “The students really engage with her interactive and practical sessions and there are lots of activities where they learn how to help manage anxiety and support themselves and others during difficult and challenging times”.

One of the attendees, a student in Year 9 ,said: “It was a very good talk that mentioned many key aspects of keeping a good mental health when it comes to studying and these tips are very useful in maintaining a good study routine and many other things.”

Copies of Natasha’s new books, ‘Toxic’ and ‘Yes You Can’ are in the School library and resources are available to students via their google classroom.

Author: Karen Dove