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Kate Middleton made a surprise visit to Castle Hill Academy in Croydon on Thursday to mark Children’s Mental Health Week. The Princess of Wales has long spoken about the importance of addressing mental health and recognising how experiences in early childhood shape people throughout their lives.
Having previously described early childhood development — along with her Shaping Us initiative — as her “life’s work,” Catherine is widely seen as one of the leading royal advocates for supporting children’s emotional wellbeing and promoting nurturing environments in which young people can thrive.
Her visit, connected to her role as patron of mental health charity Place2Be, came just days after she and Prince William released a strong statement following renewed scrutiny surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
This year’s Children’s Mental Health Week theme, “This is My Place,” highlights the importance of ensuring young people feel safe, supported and connected within their communities.
Castle Hill Academy has worked closely with Place2Be for years, making mental health and wellbeing a central part of school life. During her visit, Catherine met pupils, parents, teachers and Place2Be practitioners to learn how the school community was marking the awareness week and supporting children’s mental health.
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Starting her visit in the Early Years outdoor play area, designed around Place2Be’s therapeutic principles, Kate Middleton saw firsthand how the space encourages emotional regulation, sensory exploration and imaginative play among young children.
The Princess later met parents who have benefited from the charity’s support services, including some who had themselves received help while they were pupils at Castle Hill Academy.
Alongside a stop in the school’s art room, Kate Middleton also met with representatives from both Castle Hill Academy and Place2Be to discuss their approaches to supporting children’s mental health.
The discussions also focused on the particular challenges facing young people and families within the New Addington community.
Kate Middleton has dedicated much of her work in recent years to deepening her understanding of early childhood development, including launching the awareness campaign Shaping Us to highlight how vital the early years are in shaping people’s futures. Speaking at the campaign’s launch in 2023, the Princess stressed that “it is more important than ever” to support young children’s development.
She went on to explain: “The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives. It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work, to our mental and physical wellbeing as adults and the way we parent our own children.“
“These are the most preventive years. By focusing our collective time, energy and resources to build a supportive, nurturing world around the youngest members of our society and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come.”
