Recognising our Team: BWitC’s Mental Health Transformation Officer named as EFL Community Hero

Headstart lead Oliver Pratt has been recognised for his work with young people across Bolton by being named as one of Bolton Wanderers in the Community’s EFL Community Hero.

The EFL Community Hero campaign works with clubs and CCO’s to shine a light on the everyday heroes who work, volunteer and participate in our local communities. Across the campaign, Clubs, managers and players will mark the incredible work that community staff and volunteers deliver every day, while participants from community programmes are recognised for their commitment and celebrated for their individual successes.

As a charity Bolton Wanderers in the Community aims to revolutionise the way young people across Bolton think, talk and act about their mental health. One of the key factors affecting young people’s mental health is the change in environment, friends and routine when transitioning from Primary to Secondary School. BWitC’s Headstart provision provides education on coping strategies and self-management to young people across Bolton aiming to reduce the number of individuals needing local CAMHS services, which currently have large waiting lists, by increasing young people’s resilience and equipping pupils with the necessary tools to thrive at school.

As the charity’s Mental Health Transformation Officer Oliver has been named as one of our 5 Community Heroes in recognition of his dedication and hard work to our charity and our community across Bolton. Having joined the Charity in 2023 Oliver has developed the youth mental health support services provided by BWitC through the charity’s Headstart programme. Headstart provides an early intervention and prevention service for young people. Working with schools our team identifies those requiring one-to-one support, providing additional support for pupils currently accessing Mental Health support services or at higher risk of needing them.

Through his time at BWitC Oliver has managed to obtain qualifications in Youth Mental Health First Aid, ACE’s and Early Trauma Training, Suicide Awareness and Suicide Prevention which not only support his personal career goals but also provide a better experience for the young people he works with.

Oliver reflected on his time with BWitC, “Working with BWitC has given me a real boost to my confidence and wellbeing as I’ve had the opportunity to work with an incredible team across a huge range of environments with so many different types of people. Hearing the stories of the young people I work with and seeing the impact we can have on their lives is so rewarding, and I feel lucky to be in a job where I can really see the difference this sort of work can have on people’s lives.”

Lisa Simpson, BWitC’s Education Manager, regarding Oliver “Oliver is a valued member of the BWitC Education Team. It is crucial for our Charity to have team members like Oliver who are dedicated to making a change in young people’s lives and improving the mental wellbeing across Bolton. Since starting in his role Oliver has taken the Headstart programme and led it to the success it is today. I’m sure everyone at the charity and the schools he works with would join me in saying Oliver truly is a Community Hero.”

Over the 23/24 Season our Headstart provision delivered over 160 hours of 1-2-1 support to 31 pupils across 4 primary and 6 secondary schools in Bolton. 100% of the pupils who took part in our sessions reported a reduction in anxiety levels about the transition to secondary schools. As well as 1-2-1 support our team delivered 77 hours of class workshops to over 220 year 6 students across 4 primary schools following which participants reported improvements in self-confidence, behaviour, teamwork skills and positivity.

For more information and how our education team can support your school please contact Oliver at opratt@bwitc.org.uk