Published on
24 September 2024
Mental health support for children in schools increases
Two-thirds of children now have access to support from the Mental Health Support Team.
Wokingham Borough Council has increased its mental health service for children in schools with two-thirds of children in a Wokingham Borough authority school now having access to support from the Mental Health Support Team (MHST).
About the Mental Health Support Team
The MHST have received specialist training to work with children and young people in schools to manage mild to moderate emotional health problems either directly with the child or with their parent/carer depending on their age.
Their role is to support children and young people in a range of ways, including cognitive therapy-based interventions, advising on issues such as sleep hygiene and problem solving and teaching young people how to manage anxiety and low mood.
The MHST will also work with school staff to make sure they have the knowledge and information they need to support children and create a ‘whole school’ approach to good mental health and wellbeing.
The MHST is just one of the ways in which Wokingham Borough Council offers support to children and young people with their mental health and wellbeing.
Finding the right support
The council’s mental health and wellbeing support focuses on supporting children and young people with lower levels of need such as anxiety, friendship and relationship issues, low mood, or exam stress.
The council’s Emotional Wellbeing Hub offers a ‘front door’ into accessing further support and has had over 600 referrals since its launch in spring 2022. It works in partnership with Primary Mental Health Team 4 Youth who offer similar support to the MHST service.
Their support includes advice and guidance and onward referrals to other local services such as Sport in Mind, ARC Youth Counselling and the Tellmi app.
About the Tellmi app
Tellmi is open to all young people aged 11 to 18 years in the borough with no referral required. The app is safe and anonymous giving young people the chance to talk anonymously to peers and mental health professionals.
Young people can seek advice and support on a huge range of topics, such as bullying, school stress, friendships, sexuality, gender identity, family or romantic relationships and body image as well as access to a huge directory of organisations that can provide additional information and support.
The app also offers one to one solution focused therapy from a mental health professional. This is a text-based service and young people can refer themselves or a referral can be made by parents, carers and professionals. Currently, there are no wait times.
Nearly 1,500 young people from across the west of Berkshire – which includes Wokingham Borough, Reading Borough and West Berkshire - have already sought support and advice through the app since it was commissioned last year.
Safe, happy and healthy lives
Cllr Prue Bray, executive member for children’s services, said: “The majority of referrals locally are for anxiety, which echoes the national picture.
“Supporting children and young people early can help stop issues from escalating and provide tools and mechanisms to support them now and in the future to live safe, happy and healthy lives.
“Through our work and our work with partners, we offer support directly to children and young people in a range of different ways such as through sport, face to face, in schools, via parents and teachers and through apps.
“There is lots of information about what support is available locally and nationally, as well as how to access, on our website.”
About MHST
The MHST support children and young people with emerging, mild or moderate mental health difficulties. It is funded by central government and overseen locally by Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire Integrated Health Board (BOB ICB).
Support from the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) increased from 12 to 29 schools in September 2024.
