Children's Mental Health Week was launched by the children's mental health charity Place2Be in 2015 to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.

This year's theme is 'Express Yourself'. Its aim is to encourage children to express themselves in a variety of ways. For example, expressing yourself can be about sharing your feelings, thoughts and ideas through creativity. Children could express how they feel through a piece of artwork or writing, or they could express it through a performance such as dance or drama. An important part of this theme is that expressing yourself doesn't mean that you're the best at something. It's all about finding a way to show other people who you are and how you feel. It's about showing how you see the world and finding a way to 'express yourself' which feels good to you. Expressing yourself in a way that's unique to you is a great way to improve mental well-being.

There are many resources linked below that can be used with children at home including activity ideas, stories and an online assembly which will be available from 1st February. Remember – you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to get creative at home. Recyclable materials or older items you no longer have a use for can provide amazing inspiration, and of course there’s no limit to your imagination! Let your child/children know that if they are worried about something, they should always talk to an adult they trust. It could be you, someone in your family, a teacher or someone else in their school.