Raunds school pupils speak to Harry Kane for Children’s Mental Health Week

Children at Manor School in Raunds had the chance to chat with Bayern Munich and England star Harry Kane about mental health.

The remote discussion was part of a partnership between Bounce Forward and the Harry Kane Foundation, and was organised to coincide with Children’s Mental Health Week.

Kimberly, a Year 8 student, was part of the conversation, describing positive mental health as ‘having a good view of the world and seeing everyone as themselves.

She said: “I've enjoyed learning about how to look after my mental health by eating well and sleeping so I can look after my brain and have a good outlook on life.

“I think learning about psychological fitness is important because we can get to know how to deal with difficulties as we grow up and to face challenges with tools to manage them.”

Bounce Forward, Harry Kane and the BBC spoke to Manor School via Zoom to hear from 13 to 15-year-olds.

The lesson has been curated by Bounce Forward and Harry Kane, and teaches children about the link between physical and mental health.

Harry joined the classroom virtually from Munich and spoke directly to students to hear how they have been using the learning from the lessons, and later fielded questions.

Kate Kane, his wife and a contributor that helped design the lessons, visited the school in-person.

Lucy Bailey, chief executive officer and founder of Bounce Forward said: “I wish I could bottle up the thoughtful and strategic approach that Manor School has taken in implementing healthy minds and share it with every school in the country.

"They are at the start of their journey, but have put into place all the building blocks, using all the expertise and energy from within the school to embed the learning.

"I am excited to see how it grows over the months and years ahead, and to be able to share their approach with other schools.”

Bounce Forward is a national charity delivering inspiring and practical train the trainer programmes help promote mental health for children and young adults. The partnership between it and the Harry Kane Foundation was forged in October 2023, with the hope of ‘inspiring and transforming a generation’s thinking about mental health and how to nurture and build psychological fitness.’

Manor School is part of the Nene Education Trust. Matt Coleman, its deputy chief executive officer, said: “This initiative is so incredibly important and is an area that both I personally and we as a family of schools have been championing for a long time now.

"Our young people are less and less mentally healthy. We must consider how many young people in our school’s wear armour, are guarded, closed, and afraid to let their barriers down.

"Our work with Bounce Forward aims to support our young people with better strategies for supporting their own mental health.

"It goes without saying that having someone as iconic as Harry Kane inspiring this change adds to the profile and will undoubtedly help to ensure long-lasting impact.”