12-hour Knitting Challenge to help us work with more schools in Hertfordshire!

Soon after we expanded from our Essex roots, to become CLE Essex & East Herts, we began to offer schools more than our annual workshops, through developing SCARF - which stands for the values of Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship - which is now a comprehensive, fully-resourced scheme for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education for 3-11 year-olds and a trusted, popular resource for schools. SCARF means we reach more children across Hertfordshire (and nationally) than we can directly through our educator-led workshops.

The image of SCARF is what inspired this 12-hour February challenge. We often refer to 'wearing our SCARF' - practising the values it represents so children have a tool to support their wellbeing through adolescence, into adulthood. We now hold an annual Wear Your SCARF Day on the last Friday of Children's Mental Health Week, and offer free resources to help schools join in. This year we expanded on the theme of the week - Know Yourself, Grow Yourself... Grow Your SCARF. coramlifeeducation.org.uk/wear-your-scarf-day

One activity suggests children 'grow their scarf' by learning to knit or crochet. This is likely to be a new skill for many children and adults, so we have suggested some YouTube tutorials. We know that learning a new skill and getting creative are helpful for our mental wellbeing.