Charterhouse inspires

It’s been a year since the launch of the Charterhouse Inspires series, designed to bring the community together to debate and network around topical issues. Here we look at the first two events – exploring gender discrimination and mental wellbeing

Inspiring powerful conversations

#BalanceforBetter

Second Year Specialists Helena Musk (C) and Christie Yan (Su) report: “On 18 March 2019, we were fortunate enough to attend the #BalanceforBetter panel debate in London as part of the first ever Charterhouse Inspires series. It was an event attended by those in association with Charterhouse, ranging from Old Carthusians to enthusiastic parents and accomplished leaders in various industries.

It was held at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, London, and featured a lively and honest panel debate, led by Dr Peterken. It was fascinating to hear such genuine real-life accounts of the speakers’ experiences of being a woman in the workplace, and intriguing to hear how their experiences varied from one another’s, and from the different industries they had been in. The panel discussions helped us to realise the immense progress that has been made on the issue of gender discrimination in the workplace in recent years. But it’s clear that equality has still not been reached in all industries and workplaces.

At the same time, it was inspiring to hear about the obstacles that these women were able to overcome, and it made us aware of the fact that these are challenges that we will also have to face. At the end of the discussion, encouraged by Dr Peterken, the panellists took turns to give current Carthusians their personal advice for our own careers and lives ahead. They encouraged us to seize opportunities, work hard and not to forget the importance of human relationships. It was invaluable advice.”

Our thanks to the panellists: Ann Kenrick OBE and Master of The Charterhouse,

property investor Caroline Marsh, OC and hotelier Irene Forte (L07) and General Counsel for CM Investments Jill Lodge. Particular thanks to Irene Forte (L07) for hosting our event.

Top: Dr Peterken hosts the session. Below (left to right): Jill Lodge, Irene Forte (L07), Ann Kenrick OBE and Caroline Marsh

Left (left to right): Dr Mecky McNeil (B88), Gaenor Bagley, Dr Alex Peterken, Joe Cohen (G95) and Stella Obiji

“The phrase ‘no health without mental health’ is as relevant for schools as it is for the workplace”

Mental health and wellbeing

The second in the series of Charterhouse Inspires was held on 7 October, tackling the emotive issue of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Hosted at 20 Cavendish Square, the home of the Royal College of Nursing, we were fortunate to have another outstanding panel of OCs and parents: mental health first aider Dr Mecky McNeil (B88), community mental health nurse Stella Obiji, qualified coach and change consultant Joe Cohen (G95), and former Partner and ‘Head of People’ at PwC Gaenor Bagley. The audience was once again a mixture of parents, OCs and our current Carthusians. The panel all spoke passionately about the need for openness in the community and reducing the stigma still attached to mental health questions and discussions.

Jan Symes, our Lead Counsellor for the School, gives us her thoughts on the event and explains why this is such an important issue for Charterhouse:

“We are all aware of the increasing numbers of children and young people who face significant difficulties with anxiety, depression and self-harm. The phrase ‘no health without mental health’ is as relevant for schools as it is for the workplace. We recognise that pupils

will not be able to benefit from all that Charterhouse has to offer if they do not have good mental health.

Here at the School, it’s not enough to expect pupils in distress to approach staff. The message that ‘it’s okay not to be okay’ is repeated to the pupils throughout their time here, and they meet key staff such as the counsellor and psychotherapist through a variety of activities in their lifetime here: introductory sessions for Fourths in OQ; Reach Out workshops in LQ; drum circle events; and the Mindfulness Society amongst others.

We also encourage pupils to think about what they can do personally to maintain good mental health – and responsible use of mobile computing devices is part of this. However, we do recognise that social media can also be useful; the pupils at the Inspires event endorsed this and spoke of friends who had found help and support online.

The key is early intervention to give these pupils the tools to cope with peer pressure, exam pressure and parental pressure. Therefore, we encourage pupils to self-refer and they can do so in confidence via the booking page on the intranet. Our message is that ‘you can trust us – we won’t judge you; we will appreciate and understand where you’re coming from.’

Charterhouse aims to be a mentally healthy school that sees positive mental health and wellbeing as fundamental to its values and culture. The Wellbeing service is an integral part of its pastoral care and a new Wellbeing Centre in central School has just been opened.

It was great to see so many pupils volunteer to attend the Inspires event and how they are normalising mental health conversations. The pupils themselves have this year led a week-long event for Children’s Mental Health Week, and individual Houses have held Mental Health Days, all of which reinforce the core message that ‘it’s okay to talk’.” b