Online programme launches in South East London to meet mental health crisis amongst girls aged 8-18
– 100 subsidised places available for late September start –
Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, girls across the U.K. reported an increase in their levels of anxiety as a result of restricted social contact, interrupted schooling and uncertainty over the future – according to Rites for Girls CIC. In response, the not-for-profit organisation received lottery funding to launch a six-week online programme to equip girls for times of challenge and change. The next 100 places are offered subsidised at £20 (rather than £100).
The Girls’ Net programme has been developed and piloted by Kim McCabe, founder of Rites for Girls CIC and author of best-selling book, ‘From Daughter to Woman, Parenting Girls Safely Through Their Teens’ (Robinson, 2018). Kim comments, “the Girls’ Net programme is designed to offer fun and support for your daughter as she grows up and manages the impacts of the pandemic.”
As the local Girls’ Net Mentor I am delighted to be bringing Girls’ Net to South East London area. By the end of the programme, girls will have some down-to-earth tools for managing their emotions and will have benefited from a shared experience of non-judgemental support.
For more information please contact local Girls’ Net Mentor:
Suzie Elkerton, GirlsNet.Suzie@gmail.com
About the Girls’ Net programme
The programme is made up of six on-line sessions, each lasting 75 min, for a small group of girls of a similar age (from 8 – 18yrs). Groups will be guided by a fully trained Girls’ Net Mentor. In between the sessions, the girls will be able to work from and refer to an interactive notebook online to prompt further exploration of each week’s topic.
To access subsidised places, parents and carers can apply via the Rites for Girls website at: www.girlsnet.org
Each Girls’ Net group will:
- Mentor girls safely through challenging times
- Be a safe space to talk while in the comfort of home
- Encourage healthy ways of coping
- Show how to practising self-care
- Build resilience and confidence
- Allow them to belong to a friendly circle of girls
- Support them in making school and life transitions
Feedback shared from a group attendee found that: “[Girls’ Net gave me]…a chance to be with real girls who won’t judge or be mean, and to talk and discuss daily problems and learn new ways to think about stuff.” (Age 14)
About Rites for Girls CIC
Rites for Girls is a Community Interest Company which also offers year-long Girls Journeying Together groups for preteen girls to support them into and through puberty as they make the transition to secondary school, guidance for parents and training for women wanting to support girls as they grow up. The organisation was founded in 2011 by Kim McCabe: counsellor, parent mentor and author of From Daughter to Woman, Parenting Girls Safely Through Their Teens (Robinson, 2018).
For more information visit: www.ritesforgirls.com