Prime Highlights
- Mortal Fools has been honoured with the PSHE Education Award for its MELVA programme, a digital tool helping children manage their mental health.
- The charity’s programme has been recognised nationally for its early intervention and child-focused approach, highlighting the importance of mental wellbeing in primary schools.
Key Facts
- The MELVA programme is set to reach around 150 primary schools and over 10,000 children during the 2025/26 school year.
- Mortal Fools has expanded the programme with a new book, Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing, aimed at children aged 8 to 13, supporting the wider MELVA education initiative.
Background
A charity from Northumberland has been praised for its creative approach to mental health education in primary schools. Mortal Fools received the PSHE Education Award at the Children and Young People Now Awards for its MELVA programme, an online tool that helps children learn about and take care of their mental wellbeing.
The charity, which runs weekly sessions for teenagers at Riding Mill Parish Hall, has spent the past year working with Highfield Middle School and hosting Mortal Fools Youth Theatre events. The MELVA programme, which began on Prudhoe High Street, supports children aged seven to 11, offering early intervention and preventative approaches to wellbeing.
Kiz Crosbie, the artistic director and CEO of Mortal Fools, expressed her happiness at the programme’s national recognition. She said the award shows how important it is to provide mental health support to children early on and highlights the value of working across different sectors.
She also thanked the teachers, creative team, and key supporters, including the North East Combined Authority and the Kavli Trust, for helping MELVA reach tens of thousands of young learners. The programme was also shortlisted for the Mental Health and Wellbeing Award.
In the coming 2025/26 school year, the programme aims to support around 150 primary schools and over 10,000 children. Mortal Fools has also expanded MELVA with a new adventure book, Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing, praised by author David Almond for its humour, emotional honesty, and engaging storytelling. The story follows Melva as she faces the ups and downs of growing up and is written for children aged eight to 13.
A Mortal Fools representative said that with this national award and the growing reach of the programme, the charity continues to lead in creative, child-focused mental health education, helping young people across the North East.
