St Laurence pupils enjoy Fantastic FRED good mental health roadshow

Fantastic FRED at St Laurence Junior Academy

A special NHS mental health awareness roadshow was a big hit with children at St Laurence Junior Academy who were entranced by the Fantastic FRED Experience.

The Fantastic Fred Experience is part of the Good Mental Health Matters campaign, launched by NHS Kent in 2019, to help raise awareness of mental health among young people in Kent and equip children at a very early age to improve their lifelong emotional resilience.

Fantastic FRED delivers simple, memorable and practical ways that young children can look after their mental health and explains the link between our physical and mental health.

All year groups saw the high-energy fun informative performance that has a core theme of taking simple steps to help children look after their own ‘super-computer’ – their mind.

The letters in Fred’s name stand for: Food – eating the right foods; Rest – getting enough sleep; Exercise – being active; Digital Devices – managing time spent online and with computers.

Deputy Head Teacher Louise Buckland said: “The children were highly engaged by the immersive production and had lots of fun whilst taking away a hugely important message about mental health. The younger we engage children to equip and build emotional resilience the more likely we are to prevent mental health challenges developing when they are older.”