Digital Resource for Children's Mental Health

Aim

To develop a digital educational resource that supports children's mental health and well being and builds their EQ skills.

Watch our 6 animation episodes on the theme of bullying and DONATE NOW to power the creation of our ITSY digital educational resource that: 

• supports children's mental health and emotional well being significantly impacted by Covid restrictions and lockdown;
• develops their learning and practical application of Kindness; 
• builds their Emotional Intelligence (EQ) skills.

The situation faced by children

If the UK was suffering from a mental health crises previously, it is now sitting on a ticking time bomb simply because the mental and emotional ramifications will far outlast the pandemic. The fear for COVID-19, national lockdown and separation from peers has created an extremely isolating and anxiety-inducing world for children and young people. Our January 2021 survey indicated loneliness, social pressure, domestic issues and anxiety as the top 4 challenges facing children today. According to Ofsted, the number of children being home-schooled during the pandemic has reached more than 75,000, which shows a 38% increase since last year. Many parents have removed their children mainly out of fear about the virus rather than a genuine desire for home education.

Kindness in School Programme (KISP)

KISP is an early intervention and prevention tool that prepares children and young people for the challenges they face as children today, and  as adults tomorrow. Our experiential and creative workshops, inspired by Swedish based phenomenal learning system, involve students watching high impact short form visual content, engaging in thought-provoking discussions, role plays, games, and cooperative learning activities with an emphasis on Kindness to Self and Kindness to Others. Click here to watch the impact of our workshops. 

Our workshops, based on 10 kindness values, reinforce attitudes and practical action relating to Kindness to Yourself and Kindness to Others and such activities help develop and nurture happy, well rounded individuals with skills for life who are productive members of communities.

What is the project idea? 

We are aiming to build a digital educational portal where an animated ITSY, the friendly neighbourhood spider, guides, reassures, provides tips and resources to children on a variety of issues such as body image, racism, anxiety, social pressures etc 

The educational resource is aimed at children: 

• who’ve previously participated in our workshops where we've screened and discussed ITSY the short film. Now we'd be introducing them to an animated ITSY and expand the kindness values beyond classroom; 
• who’ve not participated previously in our workshops and for whom this would be a novel fun interactive introduction to an animated ITSY; 
• who've been home learning (pre-Covid), a market that has virtually doubled since Covid, 

The goal is to build mental resilience and emotional well being, underpinned by the 10 values of kindness, in a safe and creative space.

Watch our 7 mins animation exclusively on this platform!

If this project sounds exciting and meaningful to you, please watch our video of the first draft of the animations above which deals with bullying. From the grant funds we have raised to date, VFX & AR company Bamsound Creative will animate these episodes to an augmented reality (AR) setting and Head 2 Heart Books will be tweaking the dialogues to make these child friendly. We will then be piloting the scheme with children and their feedback will refine the animations further.

Your contribution will help!

Your contribution will help to finance the development and build of new characters, themes and storylines, working with children's publisher, Head 2 Heart Books, that focus on our10 values of kindness (empathy, courage, integrity, respect, gratitude, mindfulness, resilience, responsible, care, and compassion).

If you feel as passionately about this project as we do, please also share this page with your friends and family so that more people can understand and support the mental health needs of our children especially during a tough and challenging year.

About Be Kind Movement

At Be Kind Movement, we are committed to educating the hearts and minds of children and young people through promoting 10 values of kindness that helps them to develop  Emotional Intelligence (EQ) skills for life. This means embedding very early on a culture of kindness in young minds to encourage them to consider how kindness (or lack of it) can impact them and the world around them that includes friends, families, and the wider community.

This project successfully funded on 23rd March 2021