The Spark Blog

Category: young people

  • Do Exam Results Define your Future?

    Do Exam Results Define your Future?

    One positive thing about January is that feeling of getting back to a normal routine – the calm after the hectic Christmas and New Year storm. For a lot of young people, however, this marks the beginning of six months of non-stop exam pressure. Prelims run January to February and then there is just over…

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  • Why Do We Do What We Do?

    Why Do We Do What We Do?

    Chances are that when we meet someone new one of the first questions we are asked is: ‘what do you do for a living?’  It breaks the ice, is a good starter for further conversation and helps build rapport. Here at The Spark a more important question is: ‘why do we do what we do?’ …

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  • Teens, Relationships and Social Media

    Teens, Relationships and Social Media

    Before the advent of social media, parents had an easier time keeping track of the teenage celebrity crush. Celebrity crushes used to be someone from music, TV, sport or film. By virtue of their prominence in mainstream media, parents had a better chance of monitoring who their son or daughter adored. Plus those stars always…

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  • Social Media and the Celebrity Crush

    Social Media and the Celebrity Crush

    Social media has made the ‘celebrity crush’ more complicated for teens and their parents. In the first of two special blogs we look at how social media has changed the nature of the celebrity crush and how parents can help protect their children. A childhood rite of passage A celebrity crush is something of a…

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  • Help! They are Becoming a Teenager!

    Help! They are Becoming a Teenager!

    Perhaps the only thing harder than being a teenager is being a parent to one. The highs of being a parent can be joyful: watching them develop, become their own person and start to achieve their own life goals. But on the flip side the lows can be intensely challenging: arguments, rebellion, bad behaviour and…

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  • Filling the Youth Mental Health Gap

    Filling the Youth Mental Health Gap

    Despite increased investment the NHS is struggling to cope with the demand for youth mental health support. Recent data indicates half of Scotland’s 14 health boards missed waiting time targets for young people with mental health issues. This comes following the addition of a further £150m in funding for mental health services in Scotland. The…

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  • Relationship Education Boosts Emotional Health in Children

    Relationship Education Boosts Emotional Health in Children

    Relationship education for children and young people is a significant part of the work undertaken by The Spark. Within primary and secondary schools across Scotland, our Children and Young People (CYP) team deliver interactive programmes. Each programme aims to help children and young people understand the importance of relationships and how to manage them, thus…

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  • Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Stress

    Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Stress

    The wait for Scottish high school exam results is likely to be almost as stressful for parents as it is for their children. In the second part of our exam results blog, we offer our advice for parents about coping with exam results stress. Looking for advice for young people receiving exam results? Read our…

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  • Exam Results – A Young Persons’ Guide

    Exam Results – A Young Persons’ Guide

    Thousands of young adults across Scotland are about to receive their high school exam results. Naturally, it is a time that often brings with it stress, anxiety and other negative emotions for youngsters and their parents. In the first of a two-part blog, we offer our advice and top tips for young adults about to…

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