Ap-paws for Bella
Let us introduce you to Bella. At just 55cm tall, with silky soft ears and a black and white speckled nose, the Border Collie cross may not sound like your average therapist.
And yet, the six-year-old dog who lives at Jamie’s Farm in Bath, has been providing support to young people from all over England since she was just a puppy.
Usually on hand to greet the farm’s new arrivals with an enthusiastic wag of her tail, Bella is a crucial member of the Jamie’s Farm team and a constant and reassuring presence for the young visitors for the duration of their stay.
This year she celebrated a key milestone - having helped more than 3,000 youngsters since 2019. We were captivated by her story and couldn't wait to share it with the media.
Coverage on BBC News and ITV West quickly followed and Bella has even been shortlisted in the BBC’s Make A Difference Community Awards - in the animal category, of course. Bella and her owner - the wonderful Julie Tonks who is also therapeutic lead at Jamie’s Farm - will be walking the red carpet at Bristol’s Harbour Hotel on Friday 26 September when the overall winner will be announced.
Still with Jamie’s Farm - and as a new academic year begins - we thought it was an ideal time to remind national media how the charity’s seven working farms are helping young people across England who might be struggling with school attendance.
The Sun’s coverage of Jamie’s Fa
On Monday The Sun ran an in-depth feature about the charity’s mission - including a full double page spread in print - detailing how its transformative five-day residential stays, which see teens hand in their devices and engage with farm life, are helping to build self-esteem and confidence in the young visitors.
Staying with the topic of young people and mental health, we were pleased to see that a letter from Jamie Masraff, CEO of OnSide, had been featured in The Sunday Times’ letters page.
Jamie was responding to research carried out by The Times - Age of Anxiety - which shows that teenage girls are struggling with anxiety and wanted to highlight how youth centres can and should be a part of the solution.
OnSide’s own research shows that nine out of ten young people say that attending a youth centre makes a positive difference to their lives - as Jamie says: the government must hear this message. In 2024 OnSide’s annual study - Generation Isolation - the UK’s largest look into how young people spend their lives outside of school told us that young people really want to get off their mobiles phones but they just don’t know how to do it.
From a PR perspective, the Sunday Times’ letters page remains a top tier placement. One of the UK’s most influential newspapers, with a large and engaged audience, its letters page is seen by policy makers, opinion leaders and the public. Editorially selective, only a handful of letters are chosen each week from a huge volume of submissions hence getting published signals that your views are sharp, relevant, and timely. All in all, it’s a sought-after place to have your voice heard.
Monday sees the Fight For Ordinary parent rally and MP drop-in
As we head into the weekend, we are busy preparing for Monday’s SEND Day of Action (15 September) organised by parents, charities, and campaigners ahead of government reforms to the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system.
Events include the Fight For Ordinary Parent Rally in Parliament Square Garden, addressed by Sir Ed Davey MP; an MP drop-in hosted by Labour MP Jen Craft, and a Parliamentary debate on SEND following a 122,000-signature petition that demands the retention of the legal right to assessment and support in education for disabled children.
It’s set to be an important and inclusive day - and one in which some of our very own ‘mini Causers’ will be joining the campaign trail and bringing along their banners as they join the Fight For Ordinary.