By Harry Mottram: There was an unusual bus stop this week at Oldfield School when a second double decker ‘I Can & I Am’ bus had its inaugural trip to bring its message of inspiring confidence and good mental health to the children of Oldfield School. The charity I Can & I Am based in Bath and Somerset uses its buses to visit schools providing a break from lessons where children can make pizzas in its kitchen and then go up to the top deck for workshops on building self-confidence.
The Mayor of Bath, Councillor Dine Romero and the team at I Can & I Am, officially opened the second double decker bus of the mental health charity. Cllr Dine Romero went up to the top deck to view a wellbeing workshop where James Shone, founder of the charity, was explaining his philosophy of improving self-esteem and self-belief.
The school’s Kate Sweet said: “The friendly and experienced team on board introduce the idea that we all have a metaphorical ‘balloon’ within us. When this is full of air, we feel good about ourselves, we are resilient and we have self-confidence. Time on board provides essential tools to enable us to understand how to keep our balloons of self-belief inflated. “
Dine Romero said: “It’s so good to see the many different resources available in our area for supporting the mental health of our young people, especially at the moment. I really enjoyed my time on board the I Can & I Am bus – both making pizza with the students and learning more about how they can care for their own mental health.”
Headteacher, Andy Greenhough said: “We were delighted that the charity “I Can & I Am” chose Oldfield School to host the opening of their new bus and that our students have had the opportunity to benefit from the workshops on board. We have had so many enthusiastic comments from our students following their time on board the bus and are delighted to see them being provided with these tools for coping with life’s challenges and supporting the work we do in school.”
Following a 16 year teaching career and having been offered a job as Headmaster in 2012, James Stone was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Following surgery James lost the majority of his sight and as a result of this life changing event he decided to set up I Can & I Am as a charity to inspire confidence in young people and to help them to maintain good mental health.
For more on the school visit https://www.oldfieldschool.com/contact-us/https://www.oldfieldschool.com/contact-us/
For more on the charity visit https://icanandiam.com/
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