Burnley teacher and mum co-launches C.A.R.E.S to support children’s mental health

Danielle Brand is one of two women behind C.A.R.E.S, - Compassionate and Responsive Educational Support - which trains teachers and other professionals who work with children and young people to identify the trauma fuelling their adverse behaviour and offers simple techniques for responding empathetically.

C.A.R.E.S works with schools, including Hapton CE/Methodist Primary School, as well as parents and one-to-one with pupils to help them understand and manage their emotions.

The aim is to support young people’s long-term mental health and well-being by meeting the needs of, and supporting, the whole community around each child.

Danielle launched the organisation with Gemma Anyon and has spent the past year writing the training course, which offers certified “this school C.A.R.E.S accreditation”.

“As a child, I went through years of sexual abuse. But there was no support.”

The 37-year-old began learning about mental illness to empower herself. The more she learned, the more she believed teachers were missing vital information about how children process difficult emotions and how to help them positively deal with their feelings.

“With my teacher hat on, I thought, ‘Why don’t we know all this in education?’

“For teachers not to know the headline statements [about child mental health] for me was incomprehensible.”

Danielle says children cannot understand their trauma and tend to communicate it through disruptive behaviour. Some teachers may unhelpfully label them “naughty”, which can be hard to escape.

“We see children as 3D people and have therefore helped turn things around for them by listening. We support children who don’t need clinical help but need to be heard. From our own lived experiences, we know what children want is to be understood and listened to about what they’re feeling.”

Gemma, who has spent the past 16 months working in schools, added that many pupils come from deprived families where parents struggle with mental illness and substance abuse or are in prison.

“Behind every behaviour, there is some negative experience in their life. In high school, a lot of it can be bullying. If they are bullied in primary school, they are just a shell of themselves by Year 7.”

To contact the organisation, send an email to [email protected]