'Floristry helped me open up about mental health'- Monday News Issue 194
- Matthew Paminter
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
“Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well, too.”
Events this week:
January 26th- World Leprosy Day 2026
January 27th- World Holocaust Memorial Day 2026
January 28th- Data Privacy Day 2026
January 30th- Parent Mental Health Day 2026
February 1st- National Freedom Day 2026
Videos of the week
The Mask we Live in
This documentary on the American "boy crisis" explains how to raise a healthier generation of men and features interviews with experts and academics.
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 90 mins)
Event of the week/month
Parent Mental Heath Day 2026
Parent Mental Health Day was established by the charity stem4 which supports teenagers and young adults to build positive mental health.
Parent Mental Health Day aims to encourage understanding and awareness of the importance of parent mental health and its potential impact on the whole family system with the theme ‘Balance’. The day aims to get parents and carers to take a moment to reflect on the balance they have in their lives, as well as how they balance looking after their family’s mental health and to take steps to make positive change and ‘balance out’.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 30 mins)
Safeguarding & ED & I
Help young people navigate the mental health challenges of being online
What should you do if you receive hateful comments on social media? How can you spot when peer pressure is making you act differently? When is it time for a digital detox?
This January, Childline’s Race to a Milli campaign is helping children and young people find the answers and support they need to look after their mental health when using social media.
We’re calling on professionals across the UK to help us reach even more children and young people with this important message.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 40 mins)
Ofcom launches investigation into X over Grok sexualised imagery
The UK’s independent online safety watchdog, Ofcom, has today opened a formal investigation into X under the UK’s Online Safety Act, to determine whether it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK.
There have been deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people – which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography – and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 30 mins)
Improved safeguarding and protections for vulnerable people
Vulnerable people lacking the mental capacity to make decisions about their care are expected to benefit from major changes to safeguarding and protections, following a consultation announced by the government today.
The proposed Liberty Protection Safeguards aim to deliver improved protection and an easier and improved system to allow carers, psychologists, social workers and families to provide care to vulnerable people in circumstances that amount to a deprivation of liberty.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
FE Safeguarding Breakthrough | Why giving mature learners a voice transforms outcomes
Empowering adults to take an active role in decisions about their own safety is central to effective safeguarding in Further Education. Many learners in FE are legally adults, yet may still face vulnerabilities linked to disability, mental ill health, trauma, or life’s challenges. When students are listened to, respected, and supported to express what matters to them, safeguarding becomes a collaborative process that strengthens autonomy and aligns support with their individual needs and experiences.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Health & Safety
'Floristry helped me open up about mental health'
Two Lancashire businesses have joined forces to give men an opportunity to talk about their mental health... all while trying their hand at flower arranging.
Florists Bluebells and Daisies ran the event at 19 Kitchen and Bar on Garstang High Street, supported by the men's mental health charity Andy's Man Club.
Rob Dobson, from its Blackpool branch, said: "We've found blokes will quite openly talk to other blokes who they don't know, rather than their close friends, because they don't want that stigma."
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Is bed rotting helping or harming our health?
In the late 1960s, John Lennon introduced the world to ‘bed peace’. More than half a century later, beds are still being used to turn everyday rest into cultural statements or wellness trends. In recent years, TikTok has been flooded with the ‘bed rotting’ movement. We explain what it is, if it’s actually good for you, and whether it’s as gross as it sounds.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
How to boost your motivation levels during winter
Most of us know the feeling. It's the middle of winter, it's very cold outside, the mornings are dark and the only place you want to be is buried beneath the duvet. Decreased motivation levels and low mood can affect all aspects of our lives. But why exactly do we feel less motivated during the colder months? And how do we combat winter tiredness?
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 30 mins)
Wider Curriculum
Healthy Choices Quiz
How healthy is your lifestyle? Take the quiz to find out!
You'll get NHS apps and advice to show you how to make changes where they matter most.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Why our brains are hooked on bad news
In a world where every global and local event is amplified by social media and 24-hour news cycles, switching off feels nearly impossible. Sensationalised headlines dominate our feeds, often leaving positive stories overlooked. This constant stream of information can become overwhelming - and even damaging - to our mental health. But why are we wired to focus more on bad news than good?
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children
A pioneering investigation into the impact of restricting social media access for children in the UK has been announced as politicians around the world consider action on the issue.
In December, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from social media, with governments in other countries, including the, coming under pressure to do the same.
However, while experts say there is evidence that aspects of social media are harmful to most children, there has been no large-scale experimental study exploring the effect of limiting time spent on social media in healthy children as a population.
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Sustainability
Climate change at 'forefront' of young minds
Students from three schools gathered to debate climate change and discuss how to reduce carbon emissions locally, in an annual event on Guernsey.
The Great Climate Change Debate, now in its fourth year, was hosted at Ladies' College on 15 January, and brought about 80 students together from Ladies' College, Elizabeth College and the Sixth Form Centre, as well as teachers and politicians.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
A Conversation with Dr Matt Winning – An Actual Stand-Up Comedian and Climate Scientist
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 10 mins)
Tending flowers became a mirror to my own quiet struggles, teaching me to notice small blooms of hope amid the brambles of anxiety. That gentle unfolding reminded me how undergraduate level course help once steadied my focus when life felt tangled, offering structure more than answers. This piece on floristry and mental health captures that same healing patience and honest reflection so beautifully.