The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing

Supporting good mental health is a vital part of enabling young people to succeed and thrive at school. The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families have put together a free 5 step framework. Simple and evidence based, the framework was created for schools to use in supporting young people with their mental health. We worked with them to create this whiteboard animation, explaining these steps in an engaging and memorable way.

The Scrapbook

The challenge

Drawing firmly on the Anna Freud style guidelines, we had to present the framework and explain the five steps in a way which was sensitive, informative and memorable. It was crucial our animation highlighted the importance of mental health in education settings and left viewers with the information they need to follow the film’s call to action.

The film

To bring the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families’ 5 steps framework to the screen in a relevant way, we used sensitively drawn illustrations and characters rooted firmly in the day to day experience of school staff, with the Anna Freud Centre’s logo acting as a centrepiece. These illustrations were augmented with icons and imagery that emphasized key points in the voiceover. The animation initially explained the importance of good mental health for young people before going into a detailed explanation about the framework. This explanation utilised whiteboard animation’s ability to layer information and to make it engaging and memorable. The inclusion of charm into our every element of the film underpinned and informed our creative choices, both in the visual aesthetic and in the use of a personable voiceover, and this played a crucial part in the narrative journey from initial introduction to the closing call to action.

About the client

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families is dedicated supporting children, young people and families’ mental health. To do this they conduct research, develop tools and new approaches, train professionals and take a leading role in policy and practice.

The context

Find out more about the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families’ 5 steps framework here.

Cognitive are award-winning pioneers of whiteboard animation, and the creators behind the RSA Animates series. We help corporate, academic and charitable organisations like the BBC, TED, Coca Cola and Sanofi to tell their stories more powerfully. Find out more about us here.