The Beano is not a title most people would associate with tackling children’s mental health problems. But, says Beano's CEO Emma Scott, the flawed characters who populate the pages of the much-loved comic are actually perfect vehicles for talking to children about their wellbeing.

“The beauty of The Beano is that none of our characters is perfect, none of them has lovely long hair and blue eyes and everything goes well for them, they have all the imperfections that all of us have as children and adults and that’s why they are so relatable," she says. 

For their latest issue, Beano has joined forces with mental health charity YoungMinds in a bid to communicate directly with primary school children on the themes of digital resilience, mental health problems and emotional literacy. 

And, following education secretary Damian Hinds' recent announcement that all pupils must be taught about mental health by 2020, the timing could not be better.

Of course, teachers have long been aware of a growing "crisis" in young people's mental health, with the number of referrals to NHS child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) reported to be up by over a third in the last three years.

But, with schools stretched further than ever – recruitment pressures, mounting workload and unrelenting accountability – it’s increasingly difficult to find the time in the school day to provide the correct advice for children, particularly around the threats they face from an ever-changing digital world.

“Kids are online and consuming lots of media, which is an amazing, wonderful thing, but this brings with it a world which has been designed for adults and not for children”, says Scott. “We feel we have a responsibility to entertain kids, but also to make sure they’re in a safe place. We want to engage with young people and adults in their lives to give some messages around what digital could or couldn’t mean.”

Combining Beano's decades of experience in communicating with children and YoungMinds’  insight into child mental health gives an opportunity to bring a sense of humour and levity to subjects which can be very dark, or difficult, says Scott.

“In July, we will have very dedicated content in the comic, in videos, in quizzes, all hosted on Beano.com where we will be bringing to life some of the issues that face 8 to 12-year-olds, maybe around getting your first mobile phone, what does that mean, around conflicts that you might face with friends.”

Supporting mental health

The newest character to be added to the Beano family is Mandi, who gets given her first mobile phone in the 25 July edition of The Beano.

To ensure that the new content will not only engage children, but will address the issues that they are likely to be facing in reality, the team have gone direct to the source. 

“We’ve been talking to a lot of children about the transition between primary and secondary school, and a section of the digital content (available at the end of August/ beginning of September), will focus on some of those worries that children told us about – getting lost in the school, making that first bus journey by yourself, making new friends, all those sorts of things, which they are really worried about before they start," says Tom Madders, director of communications and campaigns at YoungMinds.

“We also looked at issues that start to affect children at that age. Things like body image, and whether you’re pretty or not, bullying, getting your first phone and the new pressures that come with that," Madders continues. "We also talked about exam stress and understanding feelings.

"It’s all about helping children to feel like they’ve got a relatable character that has been through what they’ve experienced too."

The latest edition of The Beano is just the start of a whole range of mental health and digital resilience content that will be made available to pupils and teachers.

Throughout the summer, digital content will be added to Beano’s website, which can be accessed by pupils and parents at home.

And in autumn, new lesson plans and resources will also be made available to schools.