A Glasgow primary school teacher has raised a huge amount of money to support children receiving mental health support.
Kate McGarrity, who works at Riverbank Primary in Dalmarnock, collected more than £1,600 at a fundraiser held recently at Goals in Shawlands.
The event featured a quiz and a raffle with luxurious prizes in aid of the PATHS Programme for Schools which supports children from a young age to raise awareness of their feelings and helps them to develop self-regulation skills.
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The 33-year-old teacher from Glasgow explained that she needed to raise the money to help children who are not getting the support that they require when in primary school.
She said: "Today, in our local area, primary school-aged children are experiencing poor mental health episodes for a multitude of reasons and are sadly going unsupported.
"This can start the spiral into unhealthy choices and a limited ability to regulate emotions, which, in turn, can have lifelong consequences.
“In schools, we are seeing children struggle with emotional regulation which leads to outbursts, episodes of extreme worry, and sadness and anger are becoming a regular part of school life."
Kate went on to say that the PATHS Programme she teaches aims to be proactive in helping children in their social-emotional learning as well as their wellbeing to help prevent any mental health challenges from occurring.
The programme is run by children's charity Barnardo's which works to support children in recognising, managing and regulating their emotions to build stronger mental health and resilience.
The primary teacher added: "We are also seeing a dramatic decrease in child self-confidence and self-esteem – children saying they aren’t capable and aren’t able.
"I believe there has most definitely been an increase in these types of behaviours since the pandemic.
“As a Glasgow primary school teacher with a psychology background, the recent increase in children requiring mental health support is extremely concerning.
"If the trends continue and our children continue to suffer without the right type of support, I truly worry for the next generation of adults."
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