How to access the service

Before making a referral

Consent has to be given from:

a young person who is age 12 years and above - if consent is not given then a referral can not progress
parents or carers with legal responsibility of children up to 16

A young person age 16 and over can self-refer.

If parent or carer consent is not provided professionals should consider contacting either the setting safeguarding officer or reporting concerns to the councils child protection team.

What it means to give your consent

By consenting, parents, carers or young person are agreeing:

to storage of relevant data on appropriate database(s)
MHST can share anonymised data to the national evaluation project for referrals within their remit.
the transfer and sharing of information between Wokingham Borough Council, NHS, appropriate professionals where relevant to the referral
that the referral can be discussed with professionals where relevant: i.e. case discussion or allocation meetings (i.e. Emotional Wellbeing Forum, triage), to obtain further information to best support the referral management
that disclosures which raise a safeguarding concern will be escalated as appropriate.

Referral process

Parent/Guardians can use the Wokingham Mental Health Support Team online referral form
Parent/Guardians can speak to the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) or Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL) at school and they will complete the referral form with you.
Young people can also speak to a member of school staff, School Nurse, their GP or any other professional who works with them who could support them with completing a referral.
Young people who are 16 years or over and on roll of a participating school can self-refer. Or as above, the referral can be supported with consent from the young person.

After the referral has been received

When referrals are received they go through a triage process to explore how the young person’s needs can be best met. We may contact you if we need more information.

If the referral is accepted, an MHST practitioner will be in contact to let you know. Depending on demand for our service, there may be a waiting list.

Once an MHST practitioner has been allocated, they will contact you and school to arrange a visit and an initial assessment to explore with you what intervention we may be able to offer.

If we are unable to offer you a service, we would discuss other options with you and look to signpost you to other services that may be able to meet your needs.

How your personal data is stored

Read the Wokingham Borough Council's and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust privacy notices for information about how each organisation collects, uses your personal information and how long they keep it for in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

Urgent help

The MHST is unable to provide urgent or emergency support.

If your concerns are serious, urgent or complex in nature, please visit the Berkshire NHS Healthcare Children, Young People and Families website where you will find all contact details as well as other sources of support and what to do if you are concerned about a child or young person's safety.

Make a referral

If consent given and referral criteria met, complete the MHST referral form.

Complete MHST referral form

If you need to submit supporting information send it to the MHST email address below.

You will receive an initial response within 5 working days, which will include a copy of the form.

Support to complete form

If you are unable to access or complete the referral form, please contact the MHST or ask your child's school for support.

Contact Information

Telephone: 0118 974 6000

Email: mhstadmin@wokingham.gov.uk