Unpacking Mental Health Challenges in Schools Pete Crane, Melanie Forster, Rod Sims, Joshua Stubbs and Matt Matravers (Chair)
Event details
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the future of mental health support in schools.
Our panel of experts will provide insights, address challenges, and suggest strategies for creating a more supportive and inclusive environment for mental health in the education system.
Speakers include Pete Crane of The Joseph Trust; Mel Forster of the University of York’s Psychology Department; Rod Sims, Headteacher of York High School; and Joshua Stubbs of the PSHE Association and the University of York’s Education Department.
The event, which has been organised to celebrate 30 years of York Students in Schools (YSIS), is chaired by Matt Matravers, chair of the University of York’s Community Volunteering Committee.
Set up by University of York students, YSIS is an award-winning scheme in which students volunteer at local schools and nurseries to help support teachers and pupils. Its aim is to help raise aspirations and attainment of school-age students in York.
This event will take place live on Zoom Webinar. You will receive a link to join a couple of days before the event and a reminder an hour before. During the event, you can ask questions via a Q&A function, but audience cameras and microphones will remain muted throughout.
Find out more about York Students in Schools (YSIS).
Photo credit: Paul Shields, University of York
About the speakers
Pete Crane is the manager of the Joseph Trust, a charity that provides alternative provision and enrichment programmes for children in York and the surrounding area. He is passionate about working with children who find a traditional school challenging and using the outdoor environment to improve their social, emotional and mental wellbeing. Before taking on this role, he has been involved in education for the past 15 years, teaching in London and York where he held leadership and pastoral responsibilities.
Dr Melanie Forster is a qualified Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of York. Melanie teaches advanced level modules on child and adolescent mental health and the assessment and treatment of developmental disorders. She has led on the ‘Let’s Talk Mental Health’ project, a KS3 PSHE teachers’ resource that uses a psychoeducational framework to build students’ knowledge and understanding regarding their own mental health while also strengthening their strategies and skills in better coping with mental health challenges. Melanie has worked for over 20 years in clinical practice, including generic and specialist CAMHS and primary care child and family services. She is a published author of two books looking at building emotional resilience and well-being in children and young people with SEND. Melanie is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with the BPS and holds membership with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Professor Matt Matravers is Director of the Morrell Centre for Legal and Political Philosophy at the University of York and chairs the University's Community Volunteering Committee. He previously served as Head of Goodricke College. Matt joined York Law School in 2015 as Professor of Law having been at the University of York, UK, since 1995 serving as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Professor in the Department of Politics. He is on the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Peer Review College and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Matt works on contemporary legal and political philosophy. His books include Justice and Punishment and Responsibility and Justice. In addition, he is the editor of six edited collections and the author of numerous papers in legal and political philosophy.
Rod Sims has been the Headteacher at York High School for six years taking the school from Inadequate to Good in all areas. Before that he was the Deputy Headteacher for Care and Guidance at York High School for 10 years. Before that he worked as the Pastoral Lead at Tadcaster Grammar School and he has held pastoral roles in Archbishop Holgate’s School and at Andrew Marvell College in Hull. Rod was born and raised in York, attending Westfield Primary School and Nunthorpe Grammar School (now Millthorpe School).
Dr Joshua Stubbs is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate at the PSHE Association and the University of York, where he is leading the development of an evidence-based mental health and wellbeing primary school PSHE education curriculum. Previously, he worked as a mental health nurse on a child and adolescent mental health ward in Birmingham, before studying Education at the Universities of Oxford and York. He has lectured on the University of York’s MSc in Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education and published research in peer-reviewed journals such as the British Educational Research Journal, the Journal of Further and Higher Education and New Media & Society. He is especially passionate about communicating scientific research in clear and engaging ways.
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