19 Jan 2023
PSHE Screen Time Month - The Risks Associated with Gambling Talk
Our theme for PSHE this month is 'Screen Time' leading to our Sixth Form students having a talk on gambling.
Gambling addiction can happen to anyone from any walk of life, and it can ruin lives. That was the message of Patrick Foster when he spoke to Sixth Form students this week.
Patrick, who now works for Epic Risk Management, a company that specialises in educating people about the dangers of gambling, described how he went from having a City job to the verge of suicide in the space of a few years.
He began by talking about being a successful student at an independent school which led to a professional cricket contract and a place on a course at Durham University. He spoke about the first bet he ever placed at university at the age of 19 – a lucky £2 bet that won him £72. The dopamine hit he got from this experience led to a gambling addiction that nearly cost him his life. He said: “Owing money wasn’t the worst thing about my addiction, it was the impact it had on my mental health and my relationships with the people I love.”
He spoke about the warning signs and said that, “asking for help and showing vulnerability is a sign of strength”.
Lara Stitt, Director of Student Personal Development, said: “Thank you to Patrick for your very honest talk about gambling addiction. The topic of today's talk is linked to our personal development theme for this month which is ‘Screen Time’. Next Wednesday in your Personal Development Session we will be looking at screen usage, over the next week challenge yourselves to look at how long you spend using screens and monitor the activities you’re doing. You can find lots of resources on your TeenTips accounts.”
For further information, Patrick suggested www.kooth.com, TeenTips, WhysUp and Epic Risk Management.
Epic Risk Management is an independent gambling harm-prevention consultancy offering professional services specialising in sector leading education, awareness raising, advisory and accredited training for the prevention of gambling harms. 55,000 children are classed as problem gamblers in the UK, while 37% of 11 to 16-year-olds in England and Scotland gamble. EPIC work across a fast-increasing number of schools, colleges and universities to provide professional, hard-hitting seminars.
