The group spoke of the work that they have done to address mental health issues head on and change the culture of the school to one where openness and talking about personal issues is encouraged and supported.
They discussed the creation of the Health and Wellbeing Hub in the School Library, the thought provoking and at times moving assembly to launch the Be Herd Group, the Health and Wellbeing Concert held in April 2019 and the continued work around the school to remove the stigma of Mental Health issues and the elephant in the room: all of which has led to them being nominated for and winning a West Lothian Stellar Award and a COSLA Gold Award for Tackling Inequality and Improving Health.
The pupils also spoke about how they provide support to each other and allow people to talk about issues such as: self harm, eating disorders, suicide, illness, anxiety, depression, substance misuse and much more.
Neil Findlay MSP was impressed with the work of the Be Herd group and said, "If you are a pupil, staff member, parent or in anyway connected to the school and are worried about your mental health and well being please contact them (The Be Herd Group) at Whitburn Academy
Thanks to Ms Forbes and the other staff members involved in this amazing project.
I will be raising the issues they covered in Parliament in the coming weeks and months."
The following day, Mr Findlay raised some of the issues covered by the Be Herd Group in a Parliamentary Debate on Health. These included:
- The need for the Be Herd project to be rolled out to every school across the country
- The need to address inequality, deprivation and poverty and the impact these are having on the health and wellbeing of themselves, their families, friends and community.
