Woodlesford Detachment Commander, AUO Kayla Oakey, is a Trainer Assessor at Kirklees College, and she encouraged her ACF colleagues to take advantage of a number of online distance-learning courses that she could deliver and assess free of charge.
As a result, AUOs Charlotte Lowther and Darren Mulley undertook the 10-week Certificate in Understanding Children and Young People’s Mental Health. (D Coy's AUO Michelle Young and B Coy's SSI Charlie Henson also completed the course successfully but could not attend the presentation.) In addition, Lt Walter Van Opstal gained the NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Awareness of Mental Health Problems.
AUO Oakey is eager for even more CFAVs to take advantage of these free courses. "I’ve been working across my roles within Kirklees College and the ACF to assist CFAVs to prepare for, and understand, potential mental health issues that may arise for young people, especially following the recent lockdown. The initial aim is to have an adult within each B Company detachment who holds a certificate in Understanding Mental Health."
She doesn't plan to stop there, however!
"I am now in discussion with Kirklees College with the goal of opening up these courses to other CFAVs within Yorkshire (N&W) ACF. If any of our County's CFAVs are interested in completing one of the courses above, please forward your names for further details and/or enrolment. This can be done by messaging the County Facebook page."