PUPILS and staff at a Port Glasgow High School spent a week looking into mental wellbeing.

St Stephen’s High School supported Children’s Mental Health Week for the first time after their St Stephen’s Said event revealed pupils wanted more information on mental health.

Nurture and wellbeing support worker Suzie O’Donoghue took charge of organising a week of events which included a kindness challenge, stress relief and an appreciation station.

She based the activities on the five ways to wellbeing which were to connect, learn, be active and to give.

The activities were advertised throughout the school and Suzie was delighted with the response.

She said: “Everything was really well attended, all of the year groups came together and it really was a whole school event.”

She put together a kindness wall where pupils were encouraged to take a note from the wall with a random act of kindness on it, carrying it out and nominate a friend to do likewise.

Also proving popular with staff and pupils alike was the appreciation station which saw people write who they appreciated and why.

Suzie said: ”This highlighted the little things about people that they maybe wouldn’t notice or think about but that mattered to other people, such as saying good morning every day or complimenting someone’s hair.”

Suzie said the events were such a success that the school are looking at things they can do to keep looking after mental health at the forefront of people’s minds.

She said: “The week sparked discussion about mental health and what people can do to help. We got lovely feedback from the children and you could feel a difference in the atmosphere, everyone was lifted.

“It was such a privilege for me in my role to see how amazing the young people are and how keen they were to get involved and show they cared."