Time to Talk Day: Supporting Children’s Mental Well-being in Islington

Written by Forida Rahman, Programme Manager, The BIG Alliance

Every year, the first Thursday in February marks Time to Talk Day – a national campaign encouraging open conversations about mental health. To mark this occasion, BIG Alliance hosts Time to Talk workshops in Islington’s primary schools, designed in collaboration with Islington Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

This year, over 450 pupils from five schools participated, guided by 19 volunteers from six corporate partners. The workshops focused on practical ways to support mental well-being through three interactive activities:

• Emotional Awareness – Pupils meditated to recognize their feelings and discussed healthy coping strategies such as drawing, building Lego, and talking to a trusted adult.
• Mindfulness Exploration – Children engaged their senses – sight, touch, hearing, and smell – to discover unnoticed details in their classrooms, fostering presence and awareness.
• School Well-being Improvements – Pupils shared ideas on enhancing mental health support at school, emphasising kindness, respect, stretch breaks, arts and crafts, and fidget toys, amongst tonnes of other ideas.

It was inspiring to see how much these 7–11-year-olds already knew about mental well-being—a testament to their schools and parents. Not only that, but it was evident how much effort the schools are already putting in to look after their pupils’ mental wellbeing through existing initiatives such as calm corners, golden hours, and many others.

Beyond benefiting the children, volunteers found the experience deeply rewarding. They reported increased empathy, improved communication, and a boost in their well-being.

One volunteer shared:

For more mental health resources for children and young people in Islington, visit the Islington CAMHS NCL Waiting Room.

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