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We say: where do we sign?

Learn more about Rupert, the Sandler system and why we’ve all been doing it wrong this whole time in the interview below.

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Emma Goode: Emily, I understand you’ve been through your own struggles with mental health. What part did that play in inspiring you to write this fantastic book?

Emily Palmer: Yes, it inspired me greatly. I remember going to hospital as a child for minor operations and seeing children’s books about going into hospital and what to expect. They had been specifically designed to help young people understand that what was happening was normal and allay their fears, but there was nothing like that for mental health. It made me realise there wasn’t anything available to offer help and support. And you know, not everyone has the guts to ask if their feelings and thoughts are normal.

Emma: What support do you feel is missing for young children?

Emily: Again, looking back, I had struggled early on as a teenager because I had no idea what was going on really.  I’d never heard of the term ‘mental health’. I think we need to educate children from a really young age, at primary and junior schools.  We teach children how to brush their teeth, how to get dressed, that if something hurts, you go to your parents. Mental health needs to be treated in the same way; the level of education needs to be the same.

Emma: What do you feel is the biggest block stopping a child asking for support?

Emily: I think a mixture of shyness and embarrassment, especially if you really don’t know what the thoughts and feelings actually are. It can be hard to explain. And there’s still a stigma attached to it. It’s not as easy to see as a broken arm.

Emma: Scrambled Heads has received a lot of support. Can you tell us a little more about who helped you along the way?

Emily: It was really important for me to know the book was as accurate as possible so that as many people as possible could take something from it. I spoke with lots of parents and educators to ask if this was something they could use. It was great to have their advice and input. They’re always looking for relevant content to use, especially content that speaks in a language that children can relate to.

Emma: How has social media helped?

Emily: It’s been one of the most vital parts actually because word of mouth can only take you so far. Lots of celebrities have come on board and lent their support including Denise Welch, Nick Knowles, Alastair Campbell, Dr Christian, Lorraine Kelly to name a few. That’s really helped open doors and increase the amount of people who get to hear about the book, across all different walks of life.  This week, it’s also been featured by Huffington Post and BuzzFeed – the reaction has been fantastic. As we get nearer to the 1,000 copies sold milestone, I keep thinking that every book sold is helping at least one more child.

Emma: That’s incredible, really great work. Has the feedback you’ve received inspired you to do more around this issue?

Emily: The book has inspired me in knowing that something so simple has made such a difference to people’s lives. I’m now thinking about how I can use my experience to help people in the future. It’s not an issue that’s going to be solved overnight.

Scrambled Heads can be purchased via Amazon here. We wish Emily all the very best with the book and thank her for her efforts in raising awareness around mental health issues.

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So exactly how does Kevin help the yoof of today and what does he think the government *could do better*? Time to go back to school with our favourite Blades supporter…

#1. So, what’s your favourite word?

Unstoppable.

#2. What gets you up in the morning?

A dogged determination to make the world a better place. I feel that teenagers are often overlooked by political parties and under-represented largely because they have no voting power. In their adolescent years, young people are often demonised because they can start to rebel – but someone needs to stand up and fight for their rights. That someone is me. I want to help education reform and help our schools give students the skills they will need to experience a brilliant life in the modern world.

What will they need in 10 years’ time to lead a happy life? Yes, of course, they need to be able to read and write, but so much time and taxpayers’ money is wasted on irrelevant things they don’t need to know. That means there’s no time left in the curriculum or money left in the budget to give our youngsters what they actually need to know. Teenagers don’t lobby and they can’t vote. Someone has to be that voice. That’s where I come in.

#3. What do you truly, honestly think of social media?

I truly, honestly hate it. Probably because I don’t know how to use it properly.

#4. Good thing we love it then. Kindles or books?

Books. I just like the feel, the smell, I like being able to see where I am in the book and reference the material later, like a visual marker. I don’t want to electrocute myself in the bath either.

#5. What do you think is the biggest challenge to the industry right now?

The traditionalists. Closed-minded people who are locked into an outdated education system and its predispositions. Policy makers who don’t have the vision to reinvent schools and bring them into the modern world.  Politicians who live in fear of unions and voters who won’t bring about the change that’s required in case they’re not re-elected. The information that kids need is out there – the adults are the ones stopping them from receiving it.

#6. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be a footballer. I was in Sheffield United’s youth programme at 11, kicked out at 12, re-joined at 13, ended up getting a back injury at 17. I was quickly over the disappointment because I discovered a passion and a unique mission I wanted to fulfil that was over and above being a footballer.

#7. The Blades’ loss is our gain, Kevin. What led you to your current career?

There was an inner sense of purpose that I needed to contribute something and make a difference. I experienced a series of uncontrollable events that led me to that conclusion. My parents split up when I was a teenager.  That led them to seek ways to overcome the pain, heal the wounds and move forward with their lives. There were self-help materials scattered around the house – that got me interested in personal development and self-improvement.  My parents had big missions to fulfil themselves, which undoubtedly made me want to contribute something important too. 

Mum was a NHS health visitor; she wanted to have a job that helped people. She can be quite fiery and often spoke out against social injustices. Through her career she helped hundreds of young families in deprived communities. Her caring nature and desire to make a difference with people in need was an inspiration to me. Dad was a school teacher and then a brilliant sports coach who specialised in working with young people. Dozens of the teenagers he worked with went on to have successful pro careers competing on the international stage. So he inspired me too. Mix my parents’ genes, the caring nature, fighting against social injustice and the teacher, and you get me.

I also got lucky in my teen years because I was signed by a football club that had a holistic approach to improving performance. Sheffield United had the first full-time sports psychologist in the Premier League, a nutritionist, a sports scientist, video analysis and other systems in place that are now commonplace in pro sports. We weren’t just kicking a ball around. The manager and coaches realised there were many different ways to improve performance over and above just dong the obvious. That had a massive impact on me.

In fact, Tony Robbins came to Sheffield United and held one of his first ever UK seminars with the team as a free session in return for the PR and publicity to help promote his public seminars. That exposed me to something new again and helped me evolve my philosophy.

#8. Can you use your favourite word in a sentence?

Yes. Unstoppable Teen is on a mission to help one million young people experience a better quality of life.

#9. Now can you make it rhyme?

Unstoppable dundoppable – that’s how you rhyme unstoppable!

#10. Kinda. What advice would you give to your younger self?

I think I would say have the faith that it’s all going to be ok. I had so much uncertainty in my teenage years; there was great chaos from the ages of 13 to 17. I would want to have said, “You’re OK, and you’re going to be alright. Trust yourself, have faith in yourself and the universe. It’s going to work out fine.”

#11. And so it has. What’s the best thing anyone’s ever done for you?

Impossible to pick between my parents really because they both give me way more love, support, encouragement and wisdom that anyone could ever reasonably expect. Whatever I do, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, is viewed without judgement and without prejudice. They genuinely provide the most unconditional love that I have experienced. Everything I do comes from that. Anything is possible for a young person who is given that foundation. You’re secure and feel free to pursue your goals without fear of being judged or belittled by those you care about most.

#12. May everyone experience that kind of support. Tell us, what’s been your ‘career-defining’ moment?

Haven’t had it yet – that’s what keeps me motivated and keeps driving me forward.

#13. If you won a big award of some kind, who would you thank?

First up would be my parents and my family. They provided the values and foundations that stood me in good stead.

Then I would thank all of my teachers and my team members.  They helped me learn important lessons and provided the support I needed every step of the way.  You have to have a good team because all success is a team effort. Sometimes it feels wrong just for one person to receive an award – everyone has contributed to the results. The award would have to be for my family and Unstoppable Teen – not for me.

#14. Teamwork makes the dream work. Can you give us a timesaver of the day?

Switch off social media.  Switch off auto-notifications for email. Only check them at the beginning, middle and the end of the day. Perhaps more importantly, when you go to bed, know what your top three priorities are for the next day, then when you wake up, pursue those priorities with gusto.

#15.  Where do you see your industry in 24 months?

I think the state education system will largely be the same, because it’s still being run by people who seem committed to implementing out-of-date policies. More teachers are likely to be stressed and leaving the industry. And of course, there’s the skills gap in terms of what the kids will leave education and transition into work with. 88% of businesses leaders already say school leavers are not ready for the world of work. If fundamental changes aren’t made to what we teach and how we teach the youth generation, our communities and economy are likely to deteriorate.

We know that communities and the economy are changing significantly. With the effects of globalisations, the rise of robots, AI, and other factors, the skills gap is likely to widen. With little innovation in the national curriculum, our economy and community outcomes will probably get worse before enough pain is experienced and real change is brought about.

On a more positive note, what’s happening in the world of online learning is very inspiring. As access to broadband spreads around the world, we’ll eventually arrive at a point where almost everyone on the planet will be able to learn almost anything, free of charge, without leaving their home. That has the potential to do great things for equality of opportunities and progression for humankind.

#16. Where were you 24 months ago?

I was living in Sheffield where I still am today, and I was just beginning to experiment with embedding essential life skills into the school curriculum. I was starting the first projects where I was training teachers, rather than working directly with students.  Since then, we’ve learned much about how schools can help their students master evidence-based strategies that scientists have discovered lead to better life outcomes. I want to create a self-sustaining model that schools can implement without us being there.

#17. What’s an interesting fact about your company?

We’re in our 20th year and to date, we’ve helped more than 300,000 young people through 250 schools colleges and universities.

#18. Hi-5 to that. If you could have a 24-minute Skype chat with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

The Secretary of State for Education. The Rt Hon Justine Greening MP. I’d ask her to do the right thing. Stop worrying about votes, modernise the education system. I’d ask her to consider what our young citizens will need to master in order to experience happy lives and re-establish our great nation in the modern world? Then I’d ask her to create an education system that helps young people master those competencies. If she needed help, I’ll gladly volunteer.

#19. What’s one word you’d want people to describe you with?

Integrity.

#20. Would you mind taking a selfie for us?

Here you go. 

#21. What’s your favourite Twitter handle or social media campaign?

I like campaigns that give followers a free educational series or challenge which is designed to help participants improve their results. This approach removes cost barriers, has the potential to build your following quickly, generates goodwill and helps the world become a better place.

#22. Another hi-5 to that. What’s one quote that defines your work ethic?

“Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over scepticism.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

#23. Abraham, you rock. What’s been the best part of your day?

This conversation actually. It can be easy to get so caught up in the business of the day that I rarely get time to reflect. Every gap in the day can be filled with stuff on my smartphone. Your questions have prompted me to take time out and reflect.

#24. We aim to please. Finally, anything to plug?

If you are a teenager and you want a brilliant life, or if you want to help a teenager have a fantastic future, you’ll want to subscribe to our free newsletter and weekly podcast because they are packed with simple insights you can use to deal with common youth problems and achieve more than most people think is possible. We make it fun and inspirational – I think you’ll like it!

Or if you’re like me, and you’re more of a book person, you’ll want to check out my new book – the Ultimate Youth Lifestyle. It’s a quick read that outlines the 7 steps any teenager can use to experience more success and happiness.

How we wish we’d had a Kevin when we were 13 and ¾. If you’ve been as inspired as we have, Kevin can be contacted on (UK) 0845 834 0848 or email kevinmincher@unstoppableteen.com.

Kevin will also be hosting free webinars throughout the year for parents of teenagers, so if you’d like to know how to help your teen make the next twelve months their best yet, you can join in and sign up for free by clicking here.

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This Wednesday, in a session led by chief executive of AI firm BenevolentAI, Jerome Pesenti, and computer scientist Dame Wendy Hall,) saw the government reveal their plans to prioritise artificial intelligence and skills in their initiative to promote Britain as a world-leading digital economy.  The excitement was palpable:

https://twitter.com/Barclays_pa/status/836940918213263364

With a proposal to offer over millions of individuals and businesses free digital skills training opportunities, and the likes of corporate giants Google, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group backing the campaign, the investment into a powerful digital workforce and future technologies is definitely promising. Whether or not this bold vision is transformed into a reality?

As for the government’s £20m venture into artificial intelligence research, robots, driverless cars and supercomputers that can spot tumours more accurately than qualified doctors could soon become normality. Experts believe “£654 billion can be added to the British economy by 2035 if the growth potential in AI is achieved”.

In the wake of Britain’s lengthy and as-yet ambiguous exit from the EU, the government’s vow to spearhead the digital revolution are assertive. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley assured that this digital strategy “sets a path to make Britain the best place to start and grow a digital business, trial a new technology, or undertake advanced research as part of the government’s plan to build a modern, dynamic and global trading nation”.

Our thoughts? Viva la (digital) revolución!

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Generation Z – better known as ‘Generation Social’ – may be racking up hundreds of likes but they are also making themselves extremely vulnerable by utilising location services, public profiles and sharing personal information online. It is causing so much concern that towards the end of last year, the Children’s commissioner Anne Longfield called for there to be greater representation in UK government to protect children online and on social media. She also called for there to be a broader digital citizenship programme, obligatory in every school from ages four to 14. Many other educational representatives have been asking government to consider “implementing legislation protecting children’s privacy and data online, similar to what is being proposed by the EU” after a year-long study published highlighted the serious dangers children face on social media. It is rapidly becoming a very worrying issue.

Whilst most kids seem more tech-savvy than their parents, many of them do not read the terms and conditions they agree to when signing up to social media sites – and others simply do not understand them. They regularly and unknowingly leave themselves at risk of cyber-bullying, harassment and exposure to inappropriate content, as well as their personal information being publicly released or even sold.

Deputy Headteacher of The Charter School, Simon Williams, recognises the dangers kids are facing online:

“We regularly remind our students and parents about safe use of the internet and especially social media. It is fascinating that when students have found themselves in difficulties, even though they knew the dangers, they had gone ahead and behaved riskily regardless – such is the draw of this medium.”

Looking at the terms and conditions of these social media platforms, the small print can even be difficult for some adults to understand. Whilst it is clear on most platforms that services can only be used by those 13 or over, alarming studies indicate that children as young as seven are using these platforms, with 92% reportedly online “daily”. This recently led to a lawyer rewriting Instagram’s terms and conditions so that children could understand them, surprising many. However, Instagram defended their platform;

“We go beyond our terms and guidelines to offer in-app safety and privacy help – from reporting, to industry-leading comment tools and self-help resources. We have also produced a guide for parents to help them talk to their teenagers about internet safety.”

Snapchat have taken a stand for children by attempting to simplify their terms:

“We’ve drafted these Terms of Service (which we call the “Terms”) so you’ll know the rules that govern our relationship with you. Although we have tried our best to strip the legalese from the Terms, there are places where these Terms may still read like a traditional contract. There’s a good reason for that: These Terms do indeed form a legally binding contract between you and Snap Inc. So please read them carefully.”

Is this really enough though? Surely there needs to be tighter regulations, more support for children and parents on social media safety, and better guidance on where your information goes once it is uploaded.

What are your thoughts on protecting children on social media? Do you think more action needs to be taken? Share with us on Twitter @24_fingers, we’d love to hear your views and any situations you’ve experienced.

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The Charter School in South East London is a non-selective community school with students from a diverse range of backgrounds. It is in the top 100 state schools nationally for its GCSE results and recently won a local award for the high level of attainment of its disadvantaged pupils.

The careers fair was designed to give Year 9-13 students the opportunity to be able to speak to expert advisers who work in their fields of interest (in the case of 24 fingers, digital marketing), with a view on understanding what they will need to do to in order to pursue a successful career in their chosen industry.

The Charter School were especially keen to have more representatives from the digital industries to speak to the students, as it is estimated that over 46,000 new jobs will be created in the digital sector in London alone over the next decade. That’s where we came in.

We showed the pupils what it is like to tweet all day for a living, and what else goes on behind the scenes (trust us, it’s a lot more than you might think). But it wasn’t just the kids getting schooled – they taught us a thing or two as well.

According to a study conducted last year, 71% of teens use more than one social media site on a regular basis – no wonder they have been named #GenerationSocial. With this in mind, we had the pupils take over our Twitter for the day to share their opinions on social media.

Their answers were incredibly insightful. They confirmed Snapchat was the most popular platform amongst teens, we were introduced to some up-and-coming social influencers and discovered which brands make teens reach for the like button.

It got us very excited, seeing the talent of tomorrow emerging with such interesting thoughts and ideas. Not only were we able to show them the opportunities available in the digital world, but they also showed us how much knowledge and enthusiasm they already have for such careers. 

We can’t wait to see what the future brings for social media and we look forward to welcoming the social media superstars of tomorrow to 24 fingers Towers very soon.

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