Young people's mental health is peak priority at Snow Camp
As part of Levelling the Playing Field's focus on mental health, we find out how our specialist partners Snow Camp prioritise young people's positive wellbeing on and off the slopes.
When Snow Camp participants take their first tentative slide down a slope, they know staff are on hand not just to guide them physically, but to support them mentally too.
Snow Camp (Levelling the Playing Field specialist partners) work with young people who are referred to them by over 50 youth projects and service providers in London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. They may have low self-esteem, mental health issues, have difficulties at school or at home and/or be on the periphery of the Criminal Justice System. Snow Camp use snow sports as a vehicle to take them on a journey of self-development.
They are taken through a three-stage programme over the course of a year, taking place in indoor UK snow centres, starting with First Tracks, which combines building confidence on the snow with life skills sessions, supported by a Wellbeing Manager. Emphasis is placed on things like goal-setting and re-framing negative thoughts.
The next stage is Graduate, which takes place over six weekends before Christmas. As well as further developing snow sport skills, there is strong focus on self-reflection in mental health workshops led by the organisation's trained counsellors. The counsellors are also available for one-to-one sessions either in person or separately on the phone or Zoom.
"Whilst at the snowdome we use activities to reflect on their time on the snow that day, but also how that has impacted on their personal journey," says Snow Camp's Midlands Programme Manager, Lydia Honey.
"If, for example, one of them was finding things particularly difficult and kept falling over, we would talk about how they got back up again, showed resilience and confidence and how that can transfer into other parts of their life.
"We really try to embed reflection into their daily life – we see it as really important, and a good habit to get into.
"We try to encourage them to reflect; what bits did you love and hate? Where did you make mistakes? For teenagers especially, being able to look at your decisions and emotions helps you do better next time. That is a key part to having good mental health."
Mental wellbeing group sessions also include 'check-ins' and 'shout-outs'. With check-ins, each young person is asked to rate how they are feeling with a number out of 10, giving a reason if they can. "It's a really protected time during which we encourage honesty and chat things through," says Lydia.
'Shout-outs' involve each young person nominating someone who cheered them up, encouraged or helped them. It's a way of spreading positive vibes. Volunteers, apprentices and staff join in too. "It's important that the adults are open to talking about how they're feeling too," Lydia says.
"We use snow sports to enable us to open those conversations that wouldn't necessarily have a natural way to open otherwise."
Whilst Programme Managers run things on the snow, Wellbeing Managers deliver sessions on positive mental health such as the difference between anxiety and stress and how participants can recognise the signs within themselves and others. They offer tools for how to cope, including walking, music and journalling. They run group breathing exercises and empower young people to use them outside of Snow Camp.
Excel, which takes place from February-April, is the third stage of the programme, by which time participants are competent enough to take part in a British Association of Snowsport Instructor training programme.
At the end, the young people go on an overseas residential and experience the mountains for the first time. For many, it's their first ever trip abroad which broadens horizons, pushes boundaries and increases confidence. Afterwards, they can then return as a volunteer, join the youth forum, take their Level 1 qualification or apply to become Snow Camp apprentices.
Once again, mental health underpins this stage of the programme, with increased uptake in the one-to-one sessions run by wellbeing managers as they build towards the residential trip.
Feedback from young people reveals how important mental wellbeing support is throughout their time with Snow Camp:
"Having a wellbeing manager present on Snow Camp was very comforting. She helped me to talk about what I was feeling and to learn more about myself. I'm so grateful. At the start of the year, she made me a wellbeing booklet, which I still use and love. It contains different exercises that help when I'm feeling anxious or low while giving me tips on how to acknowledge when I'm feeling happy. Just knowing that I have someone to talk to is a big relief and I'm not scared of my emotions any more."
Another participant commented:
"The sessions helped me understand more about wellbeing. The tips the wellbeing manager gave me in our one-to-ones help me a lot. The chats really helped me improve my mindset towards everything in life."
During the pandemic, when Snow Camp couldn't undertake its normal activities, it founded another project called Stop.Breathe.Think which is even more focused on mental health. It's a free one-to-one counselling service for young people in the UK which last year delivered 8,349 counselling sessions – and that included many young people on the Snow Camp programme. It's a further service its young people can be referred to beyond what they receive at their snow sports sessions. It's also available for volunteers, apprentices and staff.
"We are hugely invested in mental health here," confirms Lydia. "Even if it's half an hour at the end of the day after they have taken off their boots, it has a really positive impact.
"As in other sports, coaches and activity leaders are in a position, unlike parents or teachers, of being a trusted adult who young people can connect with. Even if it's just asking, 'How has your week been?' that conversation will help that young person's mental health, because you're showing that you're there for them.
"Having trained counsellors at Snow Camp, and our Stop.Breathe.Think service, enables us to take that support several steps further than other similar organisations. It takes our young people on a journey of self-discovery and achievement that can set them up for life."
Read more about our specialist partners Snow Camp here.