Stand Tall Programme
The Stand Tall Programme
Stand Tall is a free 8 week programme for 11-19 year olds designed to support health and wellbeing.
If you’re aged between 11-19, Stand Tall can help you to:-
- Understand more about keeping a healthy mind
- Experience the benefits of being active in a small social group
- Help improve low feelings, anxiety, stress or lack of motivation
- Improve concentration, confidence and self-esteem
This project is supported by Suffolk County Council’s Public Mental Health Programme, which aims to positively impact on inactivity levels across Suffolk, and in doing so, protect against poor mental health

Hear from some of our Stand Tall participants…
STAND TALL SESSIONS
Click to view session breakdown
Location: Kingfisher Leisure Centre
Age Range: 11-19
State Date: 20 July – Runs for 6 weeks
Time: 15:30 – 17:00
Referrals Via the Stand Tall webpage.
Location: Haverhill Leisure Centre
Age Range: 11-16
State Date: 25 July – Runs for 6 weeks
Time: 16:00 – 17:30
Referrals Via the Stand Tall webpage.
ACTIVITY VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME
Running alongside our Stand Tall programme, the Activity Volunteer Programme (AVP) is a separate 6-week course that we offer to participants. The course has been created by Sports Leaders SLQ and is run by Active Suffolk with the course material available online.
The AVP is made up of six sessions that help young people build skills to assist them as a volunteer. The skills that they develop are transferable and can be used in many different settings, for example school, college, volunteering, or paid employment.
Once they have completed the course participants will achieve an accredited Activity Volunteer Award and a certificate from course tutor.

Katie has recently completed a Stand tall course:
“The wellbeing sessions and physical activity sessions were good, the people were friendly and I know now what needs of mine that are not being met.”
Katie has now joined her local centre and is participating in classes and gym sessions. She has also started using the personal training option that is available to help her gain more confidence in the gym.

Chloe has recently completed a Stand tall course
“I found it an easy way to talk about subjects openly and you’re not judged.
I feel I have more knowledge on wellbeing in general and use it in the future.
Educationally also gives good suggestions to improve a particular struggle makes things easy to talk openly about.
I like the way the physical activity sessions are run but also a good opportunity to exercise. Boxercise is a good way to express myself.”
Register your interest today
Enter your details below and click ‘Register’ and a member of the team will be in touch, when the next course is starting.
TYPICAL STAND TALL COURSE STRUCTURE
Week 1 – Wellbeing workshop – Introduction to the mental health continuum and an introduction to wellbeing/good mental health, life balance, effective communication and that pressure/stress is manageable by having the right tools to deal with problems.
Week 2 – Physical Activity – We talk about what physical activity is and the importance of how it can help improve mental health and well-being. We focus on how this links into the 12 needs.
Week 3 – Food – How to make healthier choices / Eatwell guide and how we can link food into good mental health
Week 4 – Relaxation – This week we talk about the importance of headspace/mindfulness and how it links into good wellbeing
Week 5 – Sleep – How poor sleep links onto poor mental health and the importance good sleep hygiene
Week 6 – Addictive behaviours – this is an age relevant discussion on how some behaviours can be deemed as addictive and how to recognise this and addressing how making bad choices can lead to poor mental health. We also talk about the stages of behaviour change and how young people can overcome unhealthy behaviours and experience a more positive outlook.
Week 7– Wellbeing 2 – We introduce the 9 innate resources that we all have – we then ask the group to think about how they can use these to understand how/why any of the 12 needs could be unmet. By being more aware young people are equipped to deal with situations that lead to poor choices and poor mental health.
Each session is followed by physical activity that is offered in a safe and understanding environment. The first 4 weeks we teach the group Pad Work.
We then go into the gym and teach the group how to use the variety of equipment and reinforce the link on how physical activity is beneficial to good mental health.
OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES
There’s a range of useful apps, online resources and contact details for help and support for issues such as anxiety, depression, lack of physical activity, and alcohol and drug addiction.
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