About CORE Mental Health
The CORE Mental Health Curriculum is committed to transforming primary school mental health and PSHE education, fostering resilience, and creating a supportive environment for all children to thrive emotionally and mentally.
Our Mission
The CORE Mental Health Curriculum aims to revolutionise the global approach to mental health education in primary schools.
It aims to empower millions of teachers to confidently address sensitive topics, such as suicide prevention and grief awareness, leading to less mental health stigma, a more compassionate school environment and better mental health amongst the future generation.
- Arming children with a toolkit of proactive mental health strategies
- Reduce suicide rates
- Reduce self-harm rates
Inspiration
Dedicated to ensuring no child struggles alone
Inspired by my daughter Poppy, who tragically died at age 11 in 2014, and driven by the experiences of her sisters, who lacked the mental health support they needed, this curriculum is dedicated to ensuring no child has to face mental health struggles alone. The CORE Mental Health Curriculum has a strong focus on helping children to deal with change, uncertainty and how to navigate any painful feelings of loss.
A Seven-Year Journey
Seven Years of Crafting an Inclusive Curriculum
This curriculum has been a true labour of love for me over the past seven years. I have infused all my knowledge into its content, meticulously designing each session to be inclusive of the diverse needs of children, settings, and teaching approaches. My aim has always been to create a comprehensive, adaptable programme that benefits every child. It is backed by evidence-based, research-informed content so you can be confident that the techniques and strategies you teach in your PSHE sessions will get results. During 2024-2025, this curriculum is being piloted in 10 schools to measure the impact and to gain feedback into how it can be improved.
Suzanne Allies
Suzanne’s expertise and background:
- She had 20 years teaching experience in a primary school and was PSHE co-ordinator in a 3-form entry school.
- For 10 years, she was the Wellbeing & Resilience Lead as a university Senior Lecturer at an Initial Teacher Training provider that was graded Outstanding by Ofsted in 2023.
- She holds a master’s degree in education.
- She is a practicing psychotherapist with her own private practice and a passion for supporting young people with trauma, anxiety and loss.
- She is a Youth MHFA England Instructor and qualifies people to become Mental Health First Aiders. She is also an NUCO Instructor in courses such as Supervising First Aid for Mental Health.
- She worked as a crisis volunteer for a text-line service called SHOUT.
- She is a trained grief facilitator for the charity The Compassionate Friends and regularly supports bereaved parents, sibling and grandparents.
- She cares about the mental health of teachers too, as she’s the author of Supporting Teacher Wellbeing: a practical guide for primary teachers and school leaders published by Routledge
Supporting Teacher Wellbeing: A Practical Guide for Primary Teachers and School Leaders eBook : Allies, Suzanne: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store