Explore
Scratchicle Town
Introduce your children to the NHS 5 steps to wellbeing
through these playful animations exploring Melva’s home town.
Available to Primary Schools and Trusts everywhere NOW
The first step on the journey to positive mental wellbeing…
…is taking care of yourself in the day to day!
Through this series of short animations and follow on activities, children are invited by Mammy Mapletree to explore Scratchicle Town and learn all about about the NHS 5 Steps to wellbeing, and how each of them can be applied to their own lives.
This programme is designed to give young people in Key Stage 2 a basic introduction to the 5 key steps for improving and supporting your mental wellbeing.
These 5 steps are widely recognised by a variety of mental health charities and health organisations, and are defined by the NHS as:
1 – Connect with other people
2 – Be physically active
3 – Learn new skills
4 – Give to others
5 – Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)
By the end of the programme, children will work to create a personal wellbeing plan; mapping out simple but effective ways to incorporate the 5 steps to wellbeing into their daily lives.
Learning Objectives
Learning is facilitated through short animations featuring different characters who live in Melva’s home town, each representing different elements of the 5 key steps, followed by practical activities to embed learning.
Connect with others…
With Grandpa Pebble
Melva’s Grandpa teaches us all about the importance of spending time with the important people in our lives; how they can make us feel better and who we can talk to about our worrits.
Be physically active…
With Furnus Boggle
The Captain of the Mount Scratchicle Rescue Team teaches us about how important physical activity is for our emotional and mental health, and how we can build this into our everyday life – including in the classroom!
Give to others…
with Barnabas Boggle
Melva’s school friend, Barnabas, shows us how doing kind things for other people actually helps us feel good too, and encourages us to come up with a plan to help spread kindness in our school!
Learn New Skills…
With Winnie Sugarswirl
Local sweetshop owner and all round adventurer, Winnie Sugarswirl, encourages us to get curious and try new things! She helps us build resilience by reminding us how good it can feel to work through challenges.
Mindfulness…
With Feggis.
This wise mountain goat (yes, they can talk!) explains how big feelings can make us feel overwhelmed, and teaches us practical mindfulness activities to help us manage those emotions.
Recognise difficult friendships…
With Angelina Rattletoe
Just as Grandpa Pebble taught us about the importance of positive relationships, a run in with the resident school bully – Angelina – provides the perfect opportunity to discuss how we can recognise a true friend, and how we can respond appropriately when somebody is being unkind.
Consolidate learning…
With Mammy Mapletree
The programme is topped and tailed by an introductory and summary lesson facilitated through the character of Mammy Mapletree – Melva’s mother who is no longer around. These include baseline and end of programme evaluation activities to help us demonstrate learning and impact; making up the 8-week lesson structure.
The Melva Digital Package
Find out more about the full Melva package and its benefits
MELVA has been developed in ongoing consultation with children, teachers and families since 2017, and is available for you to use in your own setting now.
What does your school get access to?
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3 different MELVA themed creative interventions
The full MELVA package consists of three different creative interventions:
- Explore Scratchicle Town (aimed at Years 3-4)
- Melva’s Mountain Adventure (aimed at Years 4-5)
- The Quest for Barnabas Boggle (aimed at Years 5-6)
Each intervention centres around a different Melva story, and each story is told in a different way: through a series of animation; a filmed theatre show; and a choose-your-own-adventure style game.
Each intervention is designed to be delivered over the course of 8 x 1 hour lessons, but you can go at your own pace depending on the needs of the young people you are working with. They come with fully prepared lesson plans and practical wraparound activities for in-depth learning, including: creative activities, mindfulness activities, positive psychology exercises, discussion topics and prompts, and practical self-management techniques to learn individually and in groups.
Click the links above to find out more about each individual MELVA intervention.
Exciting news:
We are currently working on a 4th intervention – the Melva BOOK! This will be aimed predominantly at Year 6 children and will explore themes around transition, growing up, and grief. -
A bank of wellbeing activities & themed assemblies
As well as the structured interventions, we also provide examples of other simple activities you can use with your class or wider school anytime you like, such as simple mindfulness and breathing activities. These extra resources are designed to help make good mental wellbeing practices part of your daily school routine.
New for academic year 24/25 will also be a bank of themed assemblies, to support your whole school approach.
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The MELVA digital portal & Teacher Area
Your school will receive a unique login for the full MELVA online portal, where the 3 creative interventions are hosted.
This portal also includes a Teacher Area which holds all the necessary resources and guides you need to get started and deliver with your class, all in one easy to access place: lesson plans, evaluation guides, user guides and more.
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A simple evaluation report at the end of the year
We have built evaluation into the MELVA package, including pre- and post- intervention assessments, and session-by-session feedback.
This means that, subject to proper and full completion and submission of the evaluation data, we can provide you with a simple report at the end of the year to demonstrate impact, including:
- Improvements in knowledge, understanding and recall
- Levels of key wellbeing indicators whilst participating in the MELVA programme*
*We measure this using the PERMA™ framework – a model developed by Dr Martin Seligman and the studies in Positive Psychology to represent the presence of wellbeing
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Teacher CPD & support for school staff
With statutory services in such high demand, it is falling to schools to support children with their mental health, in place of trained mental health practitioners. We know this can come with its own anxieties and challenges, especially when considered alongside the epidemic of stress and burnout that teachers and school staff are already facing.
With this in mind, we have deliberately factored staff support into the programme. Throughout the year, school staff will be able to access:
- Introductory sessions to support the implementation of MELVA in your school.
- Digital and in person Teacher CPD Sessions on wellbeing focused topics, such as Emotional Resilience and Managing Difficult Conversations.
- Bookable 1:1 surgery slots with the MELVA team.
- Facilitated conversation with other schools using MELVA to discuss your experiences and common issues arising around mental health and wellbeing in schools.
Get the Melva Package
Full online package
Full access to all Melva programmes and their accompanying resources.
£750
Are you eligible for a discount?
Get in touch for bespoke discounts for your setting.
Access lasts for one academic year and will be renewed automatically at the start of the following year unless cancelled.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a license last?
School licenses last until the end of the academic year in which they were purchased and will renew automatically at the start of the following year unless cancelled, with invoices issued in July. If you purchase a license towards the end of an academic year e.g. Summer Term, we will liaise with you directly to discuss your license start date.
Family licenses do not expire, but are limited to 4 user profiles and once the game has been completed, it can’t be restarted.
Community or non-academic group licenses will be agreed on a case-by-case basis.
Do you offer any discounts?
We have various discounts available on our online Melva packages, including discounts for multi-license purchases (e.g. via a school trust or a corporate sponsorship) and discounts on license renewals.
Get in touch today to discuss bespoke discounts for group or setting.
What age range is Melva for?
Melva is designed for young people aged 7-11 (Key Stage 2 in England and Wales, or P4/P5/P6/P7 in Scotland).
Note: Some of the language used in the game may seem advanced for Lower Key Stage 2 (P4/P5). Throughout the Melva programme, we’ve tried to balance the content so that it will appeal to both the upper and lower end of this age range – inevitably this means not everything will land with every child the same way, but this will not hinder their experience.
Who do I contact if I’m having issues with my login?
If you are having trouble with your Melva online login, please contact melva@mortalfools.org.uk and we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
Note: The online user guides also include some basic troubleshooting tips, so please make sure you’ve read this carefully before you start using the platforms.