Golddigger Trust Launches New Primary School Resource

At Golddigger Trust, much of our work over the last two decades has focused on supporting young people through the challenges of their teenage years. However, we know that there’s an opportunity to develop positive emotional wellbeing tools earlier- recognising that developing poor mental health doesn’t have to be an inevitable part of growing up. By reaching children earlier, we can help to provide the tools they need to navigate life's ups and downs before those challenges become more deeply rooted.

That is the driving force behind ‘Good To Be Me’- our new wellbeing resource specifically designed for Y5 & Y6 primary school-aged children.

Why Early Intervention Matters

We believe that proactive support is just as important as reactive care. Mental health isn't something that only needs attention when things go wrong; it’s something we need to nurture and care for, especially in the formative childhood and adolescent years.

Developed with finacial support from the Department for Education (DfE) and Learn Sheffield, ‘Good To Be Me’ is a 5 session, early intervention course. It aims to build a solid foundation of self-worth and emotional literacy in children, helping them understand their value before they reach secondary school, helping them to stay in school and learn positively. Not only is this the first resource Golddigger Trust has created for Primary School Children, it’s also the first resource that we have created specifically for school staff to deliver directly within their own classrooms.

Partnering with 12 Sheffield Schools

After a competitive application and selection process, we trained our first pilot cohort in February with staff from 12 primary schools across Sheffield.

We had a brilliant day, introducing them to the resource and exploring together how we can support young people to develop postive emotional wellbeing and literacy. We had brilliant feedback from staff, with participants saying how ‘really informative and insightful’ the training day was, and that the resources were ‘extremely high quality and engaging’.

Feedback from the Frontline

The staff involved in our initial pilot have already begun seeing the impact of this early intervention approach:

"Session 2 was held yesterday, WOW!
The children really opened up and felt confident to talk…
It just showed how safe the space and group must have felt for them to do that.
Their feedback was extremely positive, both verbally and on the cards. Written comments such as "I LOVED this session" "I feel confident to explore how I feel", "amazing session". 
On returning to class, all thanked me and said they felt so much happier. My happy / proud bucket is full to the brim!" — Mrs Naylor, Gleadless Primary

What’s Next?

The pilot phase is currently underway, and we are closely monitoring how the resource is being used in classrooms to ensure it remains as effective as possible. We are looking forward to hosting further training dates later in the year to reach even more schools across Sheffield and beyond.

Our hope is that through this early intervention, we can help a generation of children grow up with the confidence and resilience to give them the good foundations they need to grow in their teenage years.

To learn more about the resource or to register interest for future training, visit our Primary Resources page.