Emotional Wellbeing Speakers for Schools, Educators, Businesses, Churches and Conferences
Understanding children and young people and the pressures shaping their world
Looking for an engaging speaker for your school, conference, professional event or organisation?
Emotionally Healthy Minds provides speakers specialising in emotional wellbeing, education, behaviour and the changing pressures facing children and young people.
Our talks combine professional experience with real-world insight, practical strategies and plenty of honest conversation. Whether you’re looking for a keynote speaker for a conference, an engaging session for school staff, a talk for parents and carers or a workshop for professionals, we can create a session around the needs of your audience.
Our speakers bring experience from education, school leadership, emotional wellbeing, youth work and working directly with children, young people and families.
Most importantly, we don’t believe people need more theory for theory’s sake. We want people to leave with greater understanding, useful language and practical strategies they can actually use.
Meet our Speakers
Sarah Petherick
Founder and Executive Director
Sarah is a qualified teacher with over 20 years’ experience in education, alongside more than 25 years’ experience supporting children and young people through church-based youth work in both paid and voluntary roles.
Her speaking is shaped by what she sees happening in real life. Sarah founded Emotionally Healthy Minds to bring emotional wellbeing and education together and now leads the organisation’s strategy, partnerships, family support and wider development, while remaining closely connected to the children, schools and professionals EHM supports.
Her professional development has included training in counselling, Emotion Coaching and emotional wellbeing, giving her a broad perspective on the relationship between emotional health, behaviour, learning and relationships.
Sarah is particularly interested in how childhood and adolescence are changing and the pressures facing children and young people today, including technology, anxiety, emotional regulation, loneliness, confidence, behaviour and the growing number who are struggling to access education. Having two teenagers at home keeps many of those conversations very real.
She is passionate about making emotional wellbeing feel accessible rather than clinical or complicated, and about helping adults feel more confident in supporting children and young people without feeling they need to have all the answers. Sarah doesn’t shy away from real conversations and brings warmth, honesty and practicality to subjects that can sometimes feel difficult to talk about.
James Hancock
Schools Team Lead
James has worked in education for more than 20 years, teaching in primary schools in Basildon, Essex, including 10 years as a Deputy Headteacher. Along the way, he has survived school inspections, playground duty in the rain and more staff meetings than he cares to count.
His speaking is shaped by a deep understanding of the realities schools face every day. James has served as a Mental Health Lead and Thrive Lead and is passionate about creating emotionally healthy school environments where pupils and staff can thrive. He believes wellbeing should be woven into everyday school life, not squeezed into a PowerPoint at the end of a busy INSET day.
James now leads Emotionally Healthy Minds’ work with schools, delivering staff training, student workshops and parent sessions, while also overseeing student and tutor provision across Essex. He is an experienced trainer and mentor and has also supported teachers and school leaders internationally in Uganda and South-East Asia.
His speaking style is practical, engaging and grounded in real-life experience, with just enough humour to keep everyone awake after lunch. James is particularly passionate about emotional regulation, anxiety, resilience, behaviour and creating learning environments that support both emotional wellbeing and education.
Topics we speak on
- Technology and instant-access culture (and their effect on emotional wellbeing)
- Emotional regulation and emotional wellbeing
- Anxiety and supporting anxious children and young people
- Building resilience, confidence and self-esteem
- Behaviour, relationships and looking beyond behaviour
- EBSA and school avoidance
- Supporting neurodivergent children and young people
- Building emotionally healthy cultures and working environments
- Whole-school approaches to wellbeing
- The relationship between emotional wellbeing and education
- Parenting and supporting teenagers
Sarah and James are available to speak separately or together and talks can be adapted to suit the audience, event and time available.
Churches and Christian Events
Sarah and James also speak at churches, Christian conferences and events for parents, youth leaders, children’s workers and those supporting children and young people.
Both Sarah and James are Christians and bring experience of church life alongside their professional work in education and emotional wellbeing. Sarah has around 25 years’ experience supporting children and young people through church-based youth work in both paid and voluntary roles, while James is actively involved in leadership within his local church.
Their Christian speaking brings together faith, emotional wellbeing and a realistic understanding of the world children and young people are growing up in.
Sessions can explore the pressures facing children, teenagers and families today, including anxiety, emotional regulation, identity, relationships, technology, resilience, school pressures and the changing experience of childhood and adolescence.
Topics can include:
- Creating an Emotionally Healthy Church
- Leading Emotionally Healthy Youth and Children’s Teams
- How to make Church More Neuroinclusive
- Parenting in the Age of Smartphones
- Parenting teenagers
- What’s Underneath the Behaviour?
- Helping Young People Build Healthy Relationships
- When School Becomes Hard
- Church and Home Working Together
- Becoming a Church That Supports the Whole Family
Sarah and James are available to speak separately or together and talks can be adapted to suit the audience, event and time available.
For Christian audiences, sessions naturally explore these subjects from a Christian perspective, balancing practical understanding, real-life experience and faith.
Sarah and James can speak at church services, parenting events, leadership gatherings, conferences, youth and children’s worker training, Christian events and other gatherings focused on supporting children, young people and families.
Who Are Our Talks For?
We speak to a wide range of audiences including:
- Schools and multi-academy trusts
- Local authorities and alternative provisions
- Headteachers and senior leaders
- Teachers, tutors and education professionals
- Virtual Schools
- Parents and carers
- Counsellors, coaches and wellbeing professionals
- Churches and Christian organisations
- Youth and children’s workers
- Youth organisations
- Conferences and professional networks
Practical, Relevant and Grounded in Real Experience
There is no shortage of information about children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. What can be harder though is knowing what to do with that information in real life.
Our speakers bring together professional knowledge and years of experience working directly with children, families and schools. That means our sessions are designed to be:
-
Practical
Ideas and strategies that can be applied beyond the session. -
Accessible
Complex subjects explained in clear, straightforward language. -
Relevant
Grounded in the realities faced by families and schools today. -
Evidence-informed
Drawing on professional experience, education, emotional wellbeing and our understanding of child development and neuroscience. -
Human
Because supporting children is ultimately about relationships, understanding and connection.
And, where appropriate, we don’t mind challenging a few assumptions along the way.
From Keynote Talks to Practical Workshops
We can provide a range of speaking formats depending on your event, including:
- Keynote talks
- Conference sessions
- School INSET and CPD
- Twilight sessions
- Workshops
- Panel discussions
- Parent events
- Church and Christian events
- Online webinars
- Podcasts and interviews
Sessions can range from short conference talks to longer interactive workshops and training sessions.
We are also happy to work with event organisers to create a session around a particular theme bespoke for your needs.
Looking for a Speaker for Your Next Event?
If you are planning a conference, school event, professional development day, parent event or Christian gathering, we would love to hear more about what you are looking for.
Tell us a little about your audience, your event and the themes you would like to explore and we can recommend the most appropriate speaker and session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you speak at schools?
Yes. Our speakers regularly deliver sessions for school staff, parents, carers and students. Sessions can be tailored to the needs and priorities of your school.
Can you speak at education conferences?
Yes. Sarah and James are available for conferences and professional events covering children’s emotional wellbeing, education, anxiety, resilience, neurodiversity and related subjects.
Can talks be tailored to our audience?
Yes. We can adapt the content, language, format and emphasis depending on whether we’re speaking to teachers, school leaders, parents, young people or other professionals.
Do you offer talks for parents and carers?
Yes. We can provide accessible sessions for parents and carers covering subjects such as anxiety, emotional regulation, resilience, neurodiversity, confidence and supporting children’s emotional wellbeing.
Can you provide student workshops?
Yes. We provide age-appropriate workshops for children and young people, with topics and activities adapted to the age and needs of the group.
Can you provide Christian speakers or sessions for churches?
Yes. Sarah and James both have significant experience within Christian settings. Sessions can be delivered for churches and Christian organisations where appropriate, including topics around emotional wellbeing, parenting, resilience and supporting children and young people.
Do you only speak about mental health?
No. Our sessions cover the wider connection between emotional wellbeing, education, relationships, behaviour, confidence and learning. We can focus on a specific topic or explore several connected areas depending on your requirements.
How do we book a speaker?
Simply get in touch with details of your event, audience, preferred topic and any other requirements. We’ll be happy to discuss your needs and explore the most appropriate speaker and format.
