A girls’ school has launched a mobile phone app to help the mental health of parents.
Students at Putney High School already rate their own moods on a daily basis through an “emotional barometer” on an app, helping them deal with stress and anxiety. Now it is being extended to the girls’ parents to help them manage their emotions and bring “positive behaviour” into the home.
The children’s app has a news feed on which their teachers share videos, podcasts and positive messages. It also has guided meditation and a tool section that includes the emotional barometer, an “inner coach” and a “worry filter” to help them focus better.
The parents’ app will have a different news feed with teachings about psychology and how to be open about mental health with their daughters.
The app was created by Positive Group, made up of psychology and neuroscience experts, who advise businesses and schools on how to improve their psychological health.
Dr Sinead Devine-French, of Positive Group, said she hoped the lessons would be “positively contagious” with the skills spreading out to the girls’ extended family and friends.
Headteacher Suzie Longstaff said: “With all the recent media surrounding Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, we need to be proactive in helping parents and teenagers navigate adolescence safely. We’re giving families practical strategies … to support positive patterns of behaviour and to be open about mental health and wellbeing.”
Putney High School is one of 26 institutions in the Girls’ Day School Trust. All have signed up to the programme.
It comes as Education Secretary Damian Hinds was today due to announce a trial of mindfulness lessons at 370 schools to help thousands of pupils cope with the “pressures of the modern world”.
