RCPsych Wales Schools Conference
Please note that this event has now been postponed.
Join us for the Royal College of Psychiatrists Wales Schools Conference 2024.
This event, which will be held at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay, welcomes year 10 - 13 students to attend a variety of presentations, workshops, and more.
We are asking that schools register interest and we will send further details through.
The event will be a full day event held at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay on the 29 February 2024, will full timings to be confirmed.
The day will start with a secondary schools debate on the topic ‘Are young people involved in decision making?’ followed by a panel discussion on the same topic. The panel will include Members of Senedd, as well as young people from a variety of organisations.
The rest of the day will consist of presentations on a variety of topics as well as a choice of more hands on workshops.
A full programme will follow early January 2024
As part of the day, we invite each attending school to put nominate two pupils to debate the motion ‘Are young people involved in decision making?’ with one pupil arguing for the motion and one arguing against. Each pupil will have two minutes to make their case.
We'll be keen to hear the views directly from young people on the motion 'Are young people involved in decision making?'. Here are a few questions that may help generate discussion.
- Do young people feel empowered to take action?
- Will schools/politicians and others listen to young people when making decisions?
- Will small actions lead to big changes?
- Should young people feel optimistic about the future?
- How can young people ensure their voices are heard?
The motion can highlight instances within family, school, or wider societal settings.
Visit the RCPsych Wales National Mental Health Debate for Young People programme webpage to find out more about our long standing debating progamme.
During the event, we will be displaying the submissions for the RCPsych Wales Young Persons Mental Health Research Award, and will hear a presentation from the winning entry.
The Young Person's Mental Health Research Award is an initiative by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales to promote research, innovation, and awareness of Mental Health problems across Wales. It is open to students in years 12 and 13. Whilst this conference is for year 11 students, students who have applied to the research award will also be able to attend.
Due to limited numbers, we are running registration for this event on a first come first served basis. Each school will be able to bring 10 pupils and 2 teachers.
To express interest, please fill out the form in the blue box on the right of this web page.
The event will be catered and free for schools to attend.
Timeline
- Please register for the conference as soon as possible.
- The full event programme, with confirmed schools and guest speakers will be issued in early January 2024.
Notes for schools
The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales has a long history of running these successful mental health debates for young people in person. We have also successfully held virtual debates in this format for both primary and secondary secondary schools pupils across Wales for the last couple of years.
More information
For further information, please contact Antonia Fabian.