Performing arts helps Milton Keynes pupils focus on mental health and wellbeing

Youngsters in the city are part of an evolving project set up to understand and support young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Creative learning charity Artis has been working with 150 children and young people from Milton Keynes schools to gain a better understanding of how they perceive mental health and give them the opportunity to voice their thoughts on film as part of the You, Me, Together project.

The charity is working to help pupils to understand and identify mental health and wellbeing others (you), in themselves (me) and to support each other (together).

Jill Wilkinson, Director of Health and Social Care Integration at NHS Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Group and Chair of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Transformation Programme said: “Our commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of the children and young people in Milton Keynes is one of the key aims of the CCG. We commissioned the You, Me, Together film as we were keen to hear from the voices of children on whose behalf we commission mental health services.”

The innovative You, Me, Together project is being led by the Milton Keynes Council Public Health and NHS Milton Keynes Commissioning Group. It is supported with investment from Artswork, the South East Bridge, and delivered in partnership with the MK Cultural Education Partnership.

Muriel Scott, Director of Public Health at MK Council added: “To learn more about how young people and children understand mental health and wellbeing, we needed to ask the experts –the young people themselves. This project not only helped schools engage with what mental health and wellbeing is and why it’s so important to talk about it, but it also gave us a great insight into how young people perceive it and express it. I’m incredibly proud of how well the project worked and I’m confident it’ll help us to help the young people and children in MK.”