Mental Health Awareness Week 2026: A Safeguarding-Informed Approach to Wellbeing

Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 runs from 11th-17th of May, with the theme:

“Take Action: for yourself, for someone else, for all of us.”

For schools, colleges, charities, and workplaces, this theme offers a helpful reminder that while awareness matters, the small actions we take each day are what make the biggest difference to children and young people’s safety, wellbeing, and sense of belonging.

Mental health and safeguarding are closely connected. A child and young person’s emotional wellbeing, behaviour, attendance, relationships and sense of safety can all offer insight into how they are coping and what support they may need.

For Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) and safeguarding teams, the expectation is not to diagnose mental health conditions. Instead, their role is to notice changes, listen with care, recording concerns clearly and making sure the right support or safeguarding response is considered.

When mental health and safeguarding overlap

Not every mental health concern requires a safeguarding response, but all concerns should be taken seriously and explored with care. Children and young people can experience anxiety, low mood, grief or stress as part of life, and these feelings do not automatically mean they are at risk of harm.

In these situations, it can help to look beyond a single “mental health” or “behaviour” lens. Staying professionally curious, recording information carefully, and following the setting’s safeguarding policies and procedures supports a balanced and appropriate response.

A helpful guiding question is:

“Is this child or young person safe, and what might be sitting behind what we are seeing?”

Take action for yourself

Safeguarding leads often carry responsibilities that can be emotionally demanding. Supporting mental health begins with recognising the impact this work can have on staff themselves.

Take action for someone else

One of the most supportive actions safeguarding leads can take is creating a culture where children, young people and staff feel able to talk early, before worries build or reach a crisis point.

Take action for all of us

Mental health cannot sit with one person, one policy, or one awareness week. Supporting children and young people well means working across the whole organisation, where safeguarding, mental health, behaviour, attendance, inclusion, equality, online safety and support systems are connected and working together.

Safeguarding leads can help strengthen this joined‑up approach by considering questions such as:

• Do staff feel confident in recognising and reporting mental health concerns?

• Are concerns recorded in a way that allows patterns or changes to be noticed?

• Are the pathways for safeguarding and mental health support clear and understood?

• Are safeguarding leads, HR teams and wellbeing staff working collaboratively?

• Do children and young people know who they can approach if they are worried?

• Are vulnerable children and young people identified early and supported in a coordinated way?

• Does the organisation actively promote a culture where wellbeing can be discussed without stigma?

Simple ways to boost mental health

Small, consistent actions can make a real difference. Organisations can encourage children, young people and staff to:

Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 is a reminder of how closely mental health and safeguarding are linked.

Safeguarding leads are not expected to have all the answers. What matters is noticing when something isn’t right, listening carefully, recording clearly, taking appropriate action and escalating concerns when needed.

This year’s theme encourages us to take action - for ourselves, for someone else and for all of us - by creating environments where mental health can be talked about safely, concerns are responded to early, and no one is left to manage distress on their own.

We're here to support you

If your school, college, charity, or workplace is reviewing how confidently staff recognise and respond to mental health concerns, Brightcore Consultancy offers expert-led, affordable and effective mental health and safeguarding training designed to help organisations build safer, more supportive environments.

Our training helps staff notice concerns early, respond appropriately, and understand how mental health and safeguarding responsibilities can connect in practice.

Find out more about our upcoming courses here.