App adopted by Telford and Wrekin schools praised for helping children's mental health
An app which has been adopted by schools in Telford and Wrekin has been praised for helping children's mental health.
The NHS approved app, MyCognition ED, aims to optimise a child’s cognitive health, mental wellbeing and resilience to stress, improving behaviour and academic potential. It is being used in some schools in England.
Overall, 15,000 children aged between the age of seven and 18 have used the app to help improve their cognitive function.
They were previously using it during school hours but many began using it free of charge, at home, during the coronavirus outbreak.
Siân Deane is a project manager and school improvement adviser for the Severn Teaching School Alliance.
She runs a mental health programme across schools in the Telford and Wrekin area and first started using the app when she was a headteacher in 2018.
She said: “The impact, particularly on those children with a poor cognitive function, has been fantastic.
"Children love playing the AquaSnap game as it’s such good fun.
"They’re paying attention but they’re also quite relaxed.
"They have that sense of success and something to look forward to.
“There is a plethora of apps that reportedly help our mental health but what young people really need is something that’s going to address them personally, where the AI can create their very own bespoke training programme.
"It’s crucial for teachers to really consider a child’s cognitive health as part of their daily offering in schools.
Healing
"This leads to improved resilience, the ability to manage stress in a healthy way and happier children.
"While a certain level of stress is good for all of us, it’s important that children are able to get a sense of feeling good about themselves throughout school that will help them go on to be successful."
Neuroscientist and founder of MyCognition, Keiron Sparrowhawk said the app can help during the pandemic when many children may be feeling anxious.
He said: “The worries of Covid-19 will be enough to push some children beyond their stress threshold, which, if prolonged, will result in poorer behaviour, poor academic potential, poor mental health and social isolation.
"This will be particularly evident on children who were already predisposed to poor health, and those children who were most vulnerable in society so it’s very important that parents and teachers act now to prevent this.
“So many children are struggling to access the mental health support they need right now and crucially, MyCognition ED can be used by those on lockdown who are socially isolating, wherever they are.
"ED allows a child’s cognition and mental health to be monitored and data collected confidentially by their health practitioner and wellbeing coach – most of whom are now working digitally rather than face-to-face. Reports can be made available to their parents and teachers can be fully involved as well.
"As the first line of intervention in stepped care, it is proving critical in this time where children, and their parents, are feeling anxious, worried and insecure about the future.
"It enables mental health professionals to continue their work, leverage their healing skills and help more people."
For more information visit www.mycognition.com
