LAUNCESTON College recently joined schools across the country in supporting Youth Mental Health Day.  

The day, which brings focus to supporting young people’s mental health, is held on September 19. 

This year's theme is #ControlYourScroll, emphasising the importance of digital wellbeing for young people.  Recent research has highlighted the impact of the online world on young people's mental health. A survey conducted by the mental health charity stem4 found that 93 per cent of young people had encountered frightening content online. Their concerns ranged from misinformation and online scams to cyberbullying and the sharing of inappropriate images.  

Launceston College has its own Online Safety Policy, as part of which it identifies and support groups of students that are potentially at a greater risk of harm online than others.  The school highlights four categories of online risk including content, such as fake news, being subject to harmful online interaction with other users, personal online behaviour that increases the risk of causing harm and online scams.  

Students are taught how to interact with the digital world safely, and with a healthy approach, as part of Launceston’s Character Curriculum.  The Character curriculum includes guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education and is taught daily.  

By the end of secondary school, staff want every young person to know their rights and responsibilities online, the impact of viewing harmful content and what to do and where to get support to report material or manage issues online. 

Mr Matthew Thompson, Principal at Launceston College said:  

“Youth Mental Health Day is such an important day as it sparks lots of conversations around the mental wellbeing of our students and how we can support them.  The focus on digital matters this year is welcome as we know that there are lots of issues that need tackling when it comes to the online world and I hope that students feel well supported by our Online Safety Policy.”  

As well as encouraging online safety and conversation surrounding mental health, the school is also planning to introduce a furry friend to help support students in need.  

Mr Thompson continued: “As the new principal at Launceston, I will be making sure that students feel supported each day to learn to the best of their ability, to be happy and to be successful in college.  To that end, I am delighted that my black labrador Bonnie will soon be coming into school with me to act as a support dog for students in need and spend time with students at break times.”