Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit 13 - 23 March

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit is a collaboration between Copthall School and Mill Hill School. The summit will highlight raising awareness of looking after your mental health and its impact on pupils, staff and families. It also aims to empower participants with techniques to promote their positive wellbeing. There will be workshops, seminars, discussion groups and keynote speeches from renowned experts in the field.

We welcome Natasha Devon and Pooky Knightsmith as our guest Keynote speakers.

This groundbreaking event promises to be a powerful and transformative experience for all.
We look forward to seeing you

Ms Heather Daulphin

Logo design by: Sara K. (12P), Rachel J. (12P)

Schedule of Events

Natasha Devon is an activist, writer and presenter. She tours schools, universities and events throughout the world, delivering talks as well as conducting research on mental health, body image, gender & equality. She has a show on LBC and writes regularly for a number of publications including the Guardian and Grazia Magazine.

Natasha is an ambassador for the Reading Agency and a patron for No Panic, which helps people experiencing anxiety. She is also an ambassador for Glitch; a charity which promotes digital citizenship, helping young people and marginalised communities stay emotionally safe online. She is a certified instructor for Mental Health First Aid England and eating disorder charity Beat.

In 2018, Natasha co-founded ‘Where’s Your Head At’, a campaign aimed at improving the mental health of British workers through education and law change. She is also founder of the Mental Health Media Charter, which scrutinises media reporting on mental health with the aim of reducing stigma.

Between 2015 and 2016 Natasha was the government’s first ever Mental Health Champion for Schools. She has also received an MBE for services to young people.

Her books include ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental: An A-Z’, Yes You Can: Ace School Without Losing Your Mind’ and her debut novel ‘Toxic’, which was published in July 2022.

Find out more at www.natashadevon.com

Natasha will open the summit with a Keynote speech addressing the challenges schools face around children’s emotional and mental health.

Dr Pooky Knightsmith

An internationally respected face of child and adolescent mental health, Pooky works tirelessly to ‘be the change she wants to see’. Pooky is a prolific keynote speaker, lecturer, trainer and author, she develops and shares practical, evidence-informed approaches to promoting mental health – arming health, social care and education staff with the skills, understanding and knowledge they need to support the children in their care.

Pooky has a PhD in child mental health from the Institute of Psychiatry, is the author of many books, is the research and development director at Creative Education and is a former chair of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.

Pooky will present this bespoke Keynote session to close our summit.
Heard, Held, Healed: 

Enabling Today’s Children to Flourish

Drawing together guiding principles of inclusion and trauma-informed practice, this session answers the question ‘Who do I need to be?’ for all leaders and practitioners hoping to enable children to thrive in the current context. With themes including listening, belonging, safety and pride you’ll go away with a framework of best practice and a range of ideas to make it happen.

Zohab Zee Khan

RAPPER // POET // EDUCATOR

Is an educator, spoken word poet, motivational speaker, didgeridoo player and hip-hop artist. Since 2006, Zohab has been building a formidable career in spoken word poetry, culminating in taking out the title of the Australian Poetry Slam Champion in 2014. That same year he was also runner up in the International Poetry Slam in Madrid.

Zohab has performed and conducted poetry workshops in over 30 countries across the world and is the co-founder of The Pakistan Poetry Slam. His first collection of poetry “I Write” reached best-seller status within 5 months of its launch.

He has made appearances at the Sydney, Auckland, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Byron Bay, Bellingen, Ubud (Indonesia), Bookworm Literary (China), Sunshine Coast, Darwin and National Young Writers Festivals. As well as performing at various music festivals including the world-renowned Glastonbury Festival in 2016.

As a 4th generation Australian of Pakistani heritage and having been raised in rural NSW, Zohab has channelled his distinct life experiences into stories with the intent to educate. Zohab confronts a range of social justice issues from racism to bullying and socio-economic disparities. Zohab’s high energy and powerful words have left countless inspired.

Zohab’s workshop is called 'Writing for wellbeing' and will be offered to year 10 students.

Nerys Hughes

Nerys Hughes is a highly skilled Children’s Occupational Therapist and Clinical Director. She is the Founder and CEO of Whole Child Therapy Ltd (WCT), an international children’s therapy service providing multi-disciplinary interventions across both physical and mental health provisions.

Nerys lectures as an accredited trainer to both parents and professionals around the world, enabling improved awareness of children’s  development, sensory processing, challenging behaviour, trauma-informed practice and encouraging participation in education to achieve success.

Nerys is passionate about the super powers of children and young people.  Her own experiences as a neurodiverse person and parent of a neurodiverse child have provided her with a deep understanding of the challenges facing children and young people as well as a clear insight into just how much a young person can achieve when they are provided with the right support, at the right time. 

Nerys will present this bespoke session for particularly SEND/Pastoral.
Introduction to sensory processing disorder
An introduction to sensory processing and the impact of sensory development throughout childhood.  Through exploring sensory differences, this training offers insight into signs of sensory processing difficulties and begins the discussion of how we can provide a supportive environment at school and at home.

Nerys will also train us in scent-making.

Sheila Mulvenney supports individuals in their personal development and provides training for professionals supporting vulnerable children. While continuing to write about issues related to education, well-being and personal development, Sheila has recently published her second book ‘Make it Magnificent’ – a self-help book about mindset available from our website shop, Amazon or local bookshops

Ed Kirwan - Empathy Week

Also presenting at the summit are:

• Zeeshan Hashmi - Drug Misuse and Abuse
• ‘A Slow Crash’ - Iain Mahoney https://mclellan.info/presentation/a-slow-crash/
• Elevate Education has revolutionised the way study skills are taught around the world. Since expanding to the UK in 2013, Elevate’s programmes have already resulted in tangible improvements in student performance at over 850 UK schools.Having benchmarked the study habits of thousands of past students, our award-winning seminars cover the techniques utilised by the country's top students. 17 years of experience demonstrates that any student can improve performance by tapping into, and replicating, these techniques. https://uk.elevateeducation.com/home
• The University Guys - David Hawkins International Opportunities https://www.theuniversityguys.com/services/schools/ The University Guys are here to support students in exploring, preparing for and applying to universities all over the world.
• The Self-Esteem Team https://www.selfesteemteam.org
• The Well HQ This manifesto is our challenge to the status quo for women in health, fitness, and sport. https://www.thewell-hq.com/
• Let's all Talk Mental Health is an online hub for parents, caregivers, and family members to support their teens through mental health struggles, to understand the issues and to find out more about routes for help. We are here to help you to help them with every challenge that they may be facing: anxiety, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, low mood & depression, ADHD, Autism, OCD, self-harm and more.   Featuring LIVE sessions with the UK’s top clinical psychologists, therapists & psychiatrists, every session includes at least 30 minutes of anonymous audience Q&A. Let’s all Talk Mental Health also includes on-demand access to a huge library of in-depth talks & interviews as well as regular “Ask Away” audience Q&A’s with our resident Clinical Psychologist, Dr Sarah-Jane Knight. 
• Nell Hardy - Mental health issues through movement

Workshop registration details to enquiries@copthall.barnet.sch.uk

Thank you to all our guests, Keynote speakers and the organisations who have contributed to the summit.