Place2Be provides emotional and therapeutic services in primary and secondary schools, building children's resilience through talking, creative work and play. Place2Be works with 257 primary and secondary schools, reaching a school population of 105,000 children, helping them to cope with wide-ranging and often complex social issues including bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, family breakdown, neglect and trauma.

Section 1:

I was delighted when I was asked to help open today's conference. I want to start by saying a big thank you to all of the head teachers here today. I know how much is asked of you. The fact that you are all committing your valuable time to support Place2Be, and prioritize the mental health of your students is something that all parents should be grateful for.

I often get asked why I decided to spend time highlighting the mental health of children. I imagine my answer might be very similar to many of yours. I know that I was lucky. My parents and teachers provided me with a wonderful and secure childhood where I always knew I was loved, valued and listened to.

But of course many children are not so lucky. Since beginning my work in areas like addiction, for example, I have seen time and time again that the roots of poor mental health in adulthood are almost always present in unresolved childhood challenges.

I am sure you will agree that all children deserve time, attention and love from the adults in their lives. These basic qualities are so much more valuable than the always changing material and social concerns that can seem so important to young people.

Vocabulary:

Prioritize, addiction, present in, unresolved