Melva’s Mountain
Adventure
The digital theatre show designed to deepen children’s
knowledge and understanding of their own mental wellbeing,
and teach them effective self-management techniques.
Available to Primary Schools and Trusts everywhere NOW.
This digital theatre show tells the story of Melva Mapletree…
Melva is a young girl whose struggles with anxiety, trauma and bereavement (or ‘worrits’ as she calls them) are keeping her from doing exciting new things, and sometimes mean she can’t even leave her house.
Melva’s adventure starts when her Grandpa pretends to go missing, forcing her to leave the house and climb the mighty Mount Scratchicle to find him.
Before he disappears, he enlists the help of the audience to keep Melva safe as she tackles the mountain. The audience are with her every step of the way as, together, they learn how to better understand and manage their worrits, and discover what true bravery really is.
The story is split into 5 chapters and spread across 8 lessons, making it super simple to fit into a weekly lesson schedule, to use as part of a wellbeing week, or to support a specific intervention group in school. The wraparound activities are designed to help you explore the themes of the story in more detail, and deepen children’s knowledge and understanding of their own mental wellbeing.
Learning in stages
First…
Children become acquainted with Melva and her Grandpa Pebble, as they start to think and talk more about worrits: what they are, why they’re important, and the trouble they can cause.
Next…
As Melva’s adventure ramps up, children start to learn some practical steps to managing their worrits, like talking about them with somebody they trust. They also start to understand more about how other people in their life – and the things they say – can make them feel and behave.
Then…
After a dramatic turn, Melva learns more practical ways to recognise and control her physical responses to worrits – like practising mindfulness techniques and shaking out her nervous energy. With the guidance of a very important person in her life, Melva is equipped with everything she needs to face her final challenge and rescue her Grandpa
What you and your
children gain from the
Melva film
The Melva programme is rooted in practical and legitimate mental health research.
It specifically focuses on providing children, young people, and the adults in their lives with accessible language and a creative context to make talking and learning about mental wellbeing easier. Specific benefits of the online film package include:
A participatory experience for your children
Children are given an active role in the story as ‘Mountain Rescue Volunteers’ through the wraparound videos and activities. They must complete their training through practical activities and classroom based discussions, to help keep Melva safe as she tackles her adventure.
Flexible approach for bespoke learning
Our easy to use web portal and simple lesson guides make it really easy to adapt the programme to the needs of your class. Use our online activity timer to boundary discussions, skip straight to the film and come back to activities another day, and choose between different variations of activities, based on what your children need in the moment.
Resources and language to help shape your whole school approach to mental wellbeing
Melva is designed to provide you and your children with a shared language, to make conversations about mental wellbeing easier, and part of day-to-day life. Using the key vocabulary introduced through the Melva film and activities, and our professionally designed, easy to use resources, you can continue to build on the learning from the Melva with your children, even after they’ve finished the programme.
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.
Funded and supported by:
