Mental health is a golden thread running through every activity for children and young people at our specialist partners Street Soccer London.
Each week, over 150 local girls and boys descend on the Black Prince Hub in Lambeth where the opportunity to play football is only part of the attraction.
After matches, young people can chill out in The Boot Room, where they have TVs showing football, PlayStations and qualified staff on hand who they can chat to and offload any troubles. It’s a safe space where they can feel comfortable and supported by peers and coaches. During the World Cup, they showed all the matches and served traditional food from the nations who were playing that day.
The informal conversations that take place in the Boot Room make young people feel like their voices are being heard and their mental wellbeing supported. They are encouraged to take positive steps towards achieving ambitions within football (coaching, refereeing, volunteering) and beyond (youth work, work experience or employment).
After Christmas, Street Soccer London are taking this approach out to their local community by linking up with nearby Oasis South Bank School.
Having conducted a pilot with Year 10 pupils last year, they are launching it with Year 7 in January. Pupils will walk to the Black Prince Hub from school, take part in sport then go into classroom sessions in which they will be given tools to support themselves and offer peer-to-peer mental health support for a friend in need.
“It’s adapted from a course that I put together with Tender, an arts charity working with young charity to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence,” says Street Soccer London coordinator Jack Badu.
“We work with young people on the difficult aspects of friendships, identifying healthy and unhealthy relationships, trust, respect, banter, secrets, online relationships and how best to support someone who might be having a tough time.”
In a separate project, Street Soccer London works with pupils at Lilian Bayliss School in nearby Kennington who have attended their football sessions. Jack goes into school once a week to chat to pupils who are struggling with their GCSEs. He develops mentee/mentor relationships (as opposed to teacher/student) which helps support them with things like punctuality, attendance, attainment and relationships at home. He also signposts children to local football, boxing or basketball sessions that can help with their levels of activity and engagement, all contributing, of course, to positive mental health.
Street Soccer London are currently running a research project into young people’s experience of being in care. The object is to find out what additional support care-experienced participants might need so they can cater more effectively for them in future.
More generally, the organisation seeks to support its participants’ mental wellbeing by creating positive relationships with each other.
They deliberately integrate the age groups so older players look after the younger ones. It’s all part of subtly preparing them for future roles as coaches, volunteers or referees (five of Street Soccer London’s current coaching staff are former participants).
“It’s very much a case of ‘look after the younger ones’”, says Jack. “Those 15 or 16-year-olds will be future coaches of younger age groups, so we encourage them to look after the kids they may soon be coaching.
“Because so many of our youth coaches have grown up in the area, they know the individuals well, so they’re always checking in to make sure everybody is OK. They bring them together, sit them down and say, ‘This is how you behave and treat each other.’
“It’s a community approach to support. It’s all part of our focus on wellbeing, offering a safe space and a sense of belonging.”
Find out more about Street Soccer London at streetsoccerlondon.org