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The Blues Programme

The Blues Programme gives young people the tools to look after their emotional wellbeing

There is a growing awareness in our society of the importance of supporting our children and young people to grow up to be emotionally healthy and resilient. Action for Children is committed to delivering support in a way that is known to make a positive difference.

What is the Blues Programme?

The Blues Programme is an internationally acclaimed wellbeing programme for young people aged 13-19. It has been tried and tested over the world and it proven to make a positive difference.

The Blues programme is awarded an Early Intervention Level 4 plus programme. Over Over six weeks, it teaches emotional resilience, and reduces low mood and anxious thoughts. Crucially, it gets teenagers talking.

So far, we’ve delivered The Blues Programme in over 380 schools, to more than 13,700 young people. These are Action for Children's UK statistics:

  • 77% of students say it improved their confidence.
  • 68% of students say it improved their relationships with family and friends.
  • 69% of students say it improved their relationships in school.
  • 73% of students say it improved their self-esteem.
  • 72% of students say it improved their involvement in learning.
  • 78% feel comfortable talking about their mental health.
  • 95% would recommend Blues to one of their friends.
Teenage boy sitting on bed looking worried and talking to sister.

How it works:

Blues involves a one-hour group session at school each week, plus home tasks. Students learn how to challenge negative thoughts, and talk about different coping strategies.

Regular group work builds rapport and confidence. The home tasks are a chance to practise the new skills. It’s simple, and it works.

Supporting mental health and wellbeing is a big part of what we do. We help young people talk about how they’re feeling, and make sure they don’t feel alone.

Programmes are run by trained Action for Children Blues specialists. Here's what's involved.

  • Eligible school, colleges or sixth forms sign up.
  • Students aged 13-19 fill out the Blues survey.
  • The survey identifies students who will benefit from the programme.
  • The six-week group programme begins (one hour/week).
  • After the programme, every young person is given a mental health first aid kit and signposting.

Want to discuss brining The Blues Programme to your area?

Get in touch

Current delivery locations

blues map location of services across the uk

England:

Worcestershire, Wirral /Merseyside, Staffordshire, Kernow Connect (Cornwall)

Wales:

North Wales – Welsh Language delivery available, South Wales

Scotland: Glasgow, Moray Sonas, South Lanarkshire, Ayrshire / Lanarkshire, Orkney, Inverclyde, Upper Nithsdale.

In Scotland, we are also on East Ayrshire, Edinburgh City, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, West Lothian Council and North Lanarkshire Council frameworks for Blues and Bouncing Back. Schools and/or Education departments can commission from these frameworks at any time.

Funding

Our existing Blues teams are either funded through local authorities, pupil equity fund or through voluntary income through charitable trusts and corporate partners.

Are you interested in donating to support the growth of Blues in existing areas or rolling out to new locations? Get in touch.

Here's what our young people and schools had to say:

Thank you very much on behalf of the school for putting together the programme. It has made a lot of difference amongst a lot of pupils - they speak highly of facilitators.

A teacher from a school

I think it’s really good because it’s very non-judgemental and it’s really fun because you get to relax and talk about anything.

Young person

The Blues is something I look forward to because its like a pause during the stressful school day for me to reflect on how I’m feeling and how I can help myself.

Young person

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