A Brief Introduction to What’s-Up
What’s-Up is an initiative developed by the Evidence Based Practice Unit, part of University College
London and the Anna Freud Centre, with the aim of fostering and supporting young people’s mental
health and emotional well-being in secondary school.
There are 2 keys components of What’s-Up:
1) A series of lesson plans to be used with students in Years 7, 8 and 9 that go over the
concept of mental health, focusing on stress and stress management.
2) A secure, online web-based portal that provides general information and psychoeducation on ‘stress’, including how to understand and manage stress and is aimed at all
young people not just those experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Our long-term aims for these materials are for them to be widely used and available in schools to
improve self-esteem and confidence in young people so they will feel empowered and in control of
their own emotional wellbeing. This in turn is anticipated to improve school attendance and
academic performance as a result of increased emotional wellbeing.
The accompanying lesson plans can be used in any way you see fit. Please feel free to modify them
to best suit your teaching style, classroom or age group. We only request that you complete a short
questionnaire providing your feedback on the portal so that we can further and refine these
materials to better support young people’s emotional wellbeing.
If you have any further queries about these materials or would like additional information on the
What’s-Up project, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Elian Fink
Research Fellow
Evidence Based Practice Unit (EBPU)
University College London and the Anna Freud Centre
Email: whatsup@annafreud.org
Ph: 020 7443 2218