Aardman and universities team up for mental health campaign

THE makers of Wallace And Gromit have joined forces with a group of academics to launch a new mental wellbeing campaign.

Award-winning independent studio Aardman Animations has worked with a team of academic researchers from three different universities to create the ‘What’s up with everyone campaign’, which features a series of films that look at mental health issues in young people.

Five animated characters deal with loneliness, perfectionism, competitiveness, independence and social media – five of the most common issues negatively impacting young people, according to the campaign’s research.

Daniel Binns, animation director at Bristol-based Aardman Animations, said: “We wanted to create content that could come up on someone’s social media and elicit the response ‘I know that feeling’.

“We want people watching them to see a little of themselves in the characters and their stories and that be the start of thinking about how they feel or cope and how it could be better.

“What really sets this project apart is that it’s been co-created with young people at every step. Their input alongside those of our experts has been invaluable and enlightening, enabling us to craft authentic and effective resources that can make a genuinely positive impact.”

The partnership – which also involves the London School of Economics and Political Science, charity Happy Space, and young people’s mental health expert Dr Dominique Thompson – comes amid an increased focus on youth mental wellbeing.

An NHS survey from October 2020 found one in six children and young people had a probable mental health disorder in July 2020, compared with one in nine in 2017.

The Office for National Statistics also found that more than half of all students at university (57%) reported a worsening in their mental health and wellbeing since the start of the autumn term in 2020.

The collaborative project – informed by research commissioned and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and involving Loughborough University’s Storytelling Academy – will evaluate the impact of the series of animated stories.

AVON & Somerset’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) has written a barbed letter to the councillors who torpedoed her plans to recruit 70 officers.

Sue Mountstevens says she is worried about morale in the force after the cross-party police and crime panel vetoed an average £15 annual rise in council tax to pay for the extra workforce.

Chief constable Andy Marsh wanted the extra cash, equal to a 6.6 per cent increase in the police precept, for more officers to tackle the “tsunami” of sexual offences following “savage” cuts during austerity, as well as better management of offenders and more proactive policing.

But the panel decided the force could not justify the hike while residents faced “heartbreaking” financial pressures from the pandemic and local authorities were making savings.

Members will now meet again on Friday, February 19, with a new proposal from the PCC for a rise of £13.39 – 5.88 per cent – for a band D household from April.

However, Ms Mountstevens, who is responsible for delivering an effective and efficient police force and holding chief constable Andy Marsh to account, said in a letter to panel chairman Richard Brown this meant having to use £1 million from reserves to make up for the shortfall.

She said this would hinder the incoming PCC from financing any promises in their manifesto ahead of the local elections in May, at which Ms Mountstevens is standing down, and jeopardise future policing levels.

In the letter she said: “The panel should be aware that I am concerned for the negative impact on police officer morale at what has been a very difficult time for them and I am worried about the impact and message that the panel’s veto sends to our senior police leaders and to our hardworking frontline officers and staff.”

The PCC said she, her senior team and Mr Marsh were “disappointed” the panel had rejected their “compelling case” for a £15 increase in the

police’s share of the council tax, which would take it to £240 for an average band D property.

She said 29 other panels had agreed similar rises and that Avon & Somerset received the lowest funding of the forces with the nine largest cities in England and Wales outside London, £21 million below the national average.

Ms Mountstevens said every council in the area, plus Avon Fire Authority, was increasing precepts by the maximum permitted by the Government.

“Not supporting the maximum possible precept for policing at the same time as supporting the maximum for other services demonstrates an inconsistency which only serves to exacerbate the underfunded position of Avon and Somerset Police,” the PCC wrote.

At last week’s meeting, Bath and North East Somerset councillor Andy Wait said: “In my council we have massive cuts because of Covid.

“I can’t see any reason why the police should be given a greater rise than everyone else.

“They have been treated very generously over the last three years. I’m not convinced there aren’t savings to be made.”

Avon and Somerset Police gets 60 per cent of its funding from government and 40 per cent from council tax.

This stunning picture captures the ‘frozen sea foam’ that took over a beach in plunging temperatures. Aiden Malik, 19, went to Berrow Beach in Somerset and found a covering of the “shin-deep” substance. The business and economics student at Exeter University took the photograph on an evening when temperatures plunged across the UK. The amateur photographer said he was able to make snowballs out of it.

Loughborough University > The campaign features a series of films that look at mental health issues in young people starring five animated characters

> Sue Mountstevens has hit back at councillors who refused a £15 average council tax rise to pay for more police officers