A Mental Health & Wellbeing Conference for anyone who works with children and young people in Berkshire West and beyond

Hosted by Mind in Berkshire, this mental health and wellbeing conference is for anyone who works with children and young people in statutory bodies, the education sector, voluntary sector organisations, and individuals in Berkshire West and beyond.

Young people play a key role planning and delivering the conference, identifying subjects they would like covered, and questioning and discussing with speakers the mental health challenges they face, and the support they feel young people need.

Speakers at this year’s conference include Dr Luke Beardon, autism expert and author of multiple books about autism, and Dr Dimitri Gavriloff who specialises in behavioural sleep medicine.

Hot off the press, the findings of the Oxwell Student Survey, completed by 43,000 young people in schools across the country, will be shared by Professor Mina Fazel. She will be joined by young people to discuss some of the issues raised by the survey, and by Sarah Emery, CEO of Berkshire Youth, who will share conclusions drawn from their 2023 survey of young people across the country.

Workshops will be delivered by a variety of organisations including Citizens Advice, Samaritans, Soulscape, No 5, Reading FC Community Trust, Safe and Sport in Mind, Brighter Futures for Children and NHS Berkshire Healthcare Children, Young People and Families Service Jess Willsher, CEO of Oxfordshire Mind said: “Post pandemic and in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, an increasing number of children and young people are having to cope with mental health challenges.* At a time when it’s more important than ever to understand mental health and wellbeing support from a young person’s perspective, we’re delighted to be hosting our second Youth in Mind Berkshire conference. It’s an opportunity for all of us who work with children and young people to come together, learn from experts and each other, and find ways of working creatively together to provide the best support we can.”

Alongside speakers, presentations and workshops there are exhibition stands and a wellbeing area.

Tickets are now on sale for the second Youth in Mind Berkshire conference which takes place on Thursday 27th June at the Palmer Building, University of Reading.