Championing creative resilience: Children’s Mental Health Week 2025

Creativity can be a double-edged sword. We know there are huge benefits to our mental wellbeing that come with being creative. But, at the same time the pressure to keep ideas and enthusiasm flowing can present its own challenges.

That’s why this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week theme of ‘know yourself, grow yourself’ is so important.

Since 2016, we’ve had a close partnership with children’s mental health charity Place2Be. A partnership that continues as we support them in encouraging the embracing of self-awareness to build resilience, grow and develop as part of Children’s Mental Health Week 2025.

In a series of videos hosted by two of our Young Presenter winners, Tristan Thompson and Samaira Iqbal, we find out how presenter/broadcaster Shanequa Paris, and actors Chloe Lea and Jay Lycurgo use their self-awareness while working in the creative industry.

Shanequa Paris, BBC Newsround and Radio 1’s Life Hacks presenter, shared that “it’s the unknown that scares me” as she opened up to Tristan about working in the creative field.

When asked what she did to cope with her nerves, Shanequa said: “Research, forward planning, [and] making sure I have all the info I need before doing something new helps.”

Dune: Prophecy actor Chloe Lea shared that “just trusting yourself and acknowledging the feelings [you are having]” is an important part of coping with nerves.

“If you give yourself time to process them [your nerves] then you can actually work with them and use the energy,” Chloe told Tristan.

Generation Z and Titan actor, Jay Lycurgo, suggested thinking about nerves as a “superpower”.

Jay told Samaira: “What I say about nerves is, it’s your biggest tool. It’s your superpower. Nerves is the thing that pushes you to the next level.”

He also said: “It’s really important to find, to know, who you are and not be too hard on yourself when you’re trying to find out. Everyone is trying to work it out… no one knows what they’re doing so try not to be too hard on yourself.”

Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2025 takes place from 3-9 February. The aim is to encourage children, young people and adults to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them. At the heart of it all is a desire to help young people grow and develop resilience to cope with what life throws at them.

BAFTA’s key activity with primary schools has been running in partnership with children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, since 2016. The Young BAFTA Roadshow with Place2Be is a strand of national/regional all-day school visits taking children’s presenters into schools and running assemblies, workshops and special roundtables. Supported by experts across the screen industries eg games designers, animators, actors, writers. Additionally Young BAFTA supports Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week with online content.