With support from CPSL Mind’s Good Life Fund, St Augustine’s Church of England Junior School headteacher, Sam Brunt, started a LEGO group for students to help with their mental health and wellbeing.

How did the LEGO group get started?

By building LEGO sets and developing connections with peers, the group aims to support children’s mental health following the pandemic. Sam said, “I like to do LEGO in my own time, so I thought maybe LEGO would be a good way to engage those children and give them something positive that they could work on and use. And the Good Life Fund was a brilliant way to be able to set up the LEGO club.”

What was the impact on the children’s wellbeing?

The children were absolutely overjoyed when they found out about the LEGO Group. Talking about how it had a positive impact on the children’s wellbeing, especially with the transition from primary to secondary school, Sam added, “being able to give them the opportunity to work together with people who they wouldn’t normally work with, that really sets them up well for secondary school. When they’re going to be getting to meet new people that they’ve not worked with before, that really helped them with that transition.”

He further shared how the group also helped students build friendship, explaining, “the best part of it is not necessarily the making, it’s the conversations that go on around it, it’s the opportunity to share concerns, the opportunity to talk about the things that are on their mind. And me sat as a headteacher, sat with, in that moment, twelve children who are all building different things, it’s those conversations and those opportunities for children to share their concerns that are the most important and they’ve been the most impactful things, as well as obviously being able to create brilliant stuff.”

The students instantly took a liking to the group, with several saying that “LEGO Club is the best thing ever.” The parents were also eager for their children to join the group as it had such a positive impact on their social, emotional, and mental health. “Now all the other children are desperate to come along and have that same experience and the parents have been really keen for their children to come along as well,” said Sam.

Sam’s passion for helping students with their mental health is growing as he plans on expanding the idea of the group to parents and to staff as well, to support their wellbeing. When asked about how helpful the grant was, offered by CPSL Mind’s Good Life Fund, he said, “it’s been really impactful for us, not just in the few short weeks that we’ve been running our club, but I can see it being really impactful for years to come. It’s going to be self-sustaining and beneficial to the children.”

What is the Good Life Fund and how can I apply for it?

The Good Life Fund offers grants of up to £1,500 to people in our local community to help set up groups that connect people, such as book clubs, craft classes, or activities that encourage people to learn new skills.

The Good Life Fund is part of CPSL Mind’s Good Life Service, which is funded by Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council.

Find out more about the Good Life Fund to start your group.