What age range do the MHST work with?

The MHSTs are designed to support students from the age of 5 to their 18th birthday. Our work also includes working with parents, particularly with children of primary school aged children.

What direct support does the MHST offer?

Once a referral has been received, we will then offer an initial assessment to guide the next steps for support and identify the most helpful intervention that can be offered for you.

MHST offers a range of targeted interventions including structured 1:1 CBT guided intervention for:

• Young people attending secondary school and college 
• Managing Anxiety —  6-8 sessions to support young person to develop skills to manage low – moderate anxiety
• Managing Low Mood — 6-8 sessions to support young person to manage low to moderate low mood
• Parents/carers of primary school children
• Guided self-help for anxiety — 6-8 individual sessions to support the parent/carer in helping their child with mild to moderate anxiety.
• Guided Self-help for behaviour difficulties — 6-8 individual sessions to support the parent/carer in managing mild to moderate challenging behaviours at home.

There is a strong evidence base which supports the efficacy of working directly with the primary carers of children of primary school age. The interventions provide a guided approach to parents/carers to develop their skills to support their children’s needs.

MHST provide Targeted Group Interventions for both primary aged children,parents/carers, secondary school and college based young people.  

Primary Schools 

• Guided self- help for anxiety delivered as 6-8 group sessions for parents/carers to help their children with mild to moderate anxiety
• Guided Self-help for behaviour difficulties delivered as 6-8 group sessions for parents/carers to support their children managing low to moderate challenging behaviours
• Self Esteem & Confidence Group Intervention for primary school children delivered as 6 group sessions aimed at raising self-esteem and developing helpful skills 
• My Emotions – delivered as four group sessions for year 3 & 4 to better understand and manage emotions & feelings 

Secondary Schools & Colleges

• Managing Anxiety delivered as 6 group sessions 
• Self Esteem & Confidence delivered as 6 group sessions
• Mind & Mood delivered as 6 group sessions. This intervention provides helpful skills to assist behaviour change for both anxiety and low mood.

Groupwork provides considerable benefit by offering support to children and young people to share their experiences, assist to break down barriers such as feeling alone, supportively practice helpful skills and develop peer relationships. 

How do I make a referral to MHST? 

We accept referrals via the child’s school. Please speak to your schools designated mental health lead who will support you to complete a referral form to the MHST on your behalf.

What will happen during your first appointment with the MHST?

Location: School

During term time, you will meet with someone from the MHST in person at your school. In school holidays, you will meet us in a private room either in school, or a venue in your local community if your school is closed (this may include GP surgeries, community centres, or other NHS buildings).

If the young person referred to us is in primary school, then we will arrange to meet with the parent/carer to complete the assessment. If the young person referred to us is in secondary school, then we will arrange to meet with the young person.

Your assessment might be individual (1-1) or arranged as a group assessment with other young people if we think one of our group interventions would help you.

Questionnaires: Before or during your assessment, we will ask you to complete a brief questionnaire. This looks at common difficulties such as anxiety and low mood, and helps us to see which areas you might be struggling in. There are no right or wrong answers but will help us to understand how you think and feel about things. We will go through the results of this with you in the assessment.

What will we talk about?

You will get the chance to find out about what things the MHST can help with, and you can ask us about things you are not sure about. 

We will ask questions to find out more about yourself and to understand what support you might need. This will include us asking you about:

• Things that are going well (hobbies, interests, things that make you happy)
• Your family and other important people in your life
• School (including lessons, staff, and friendships)
• Sleep and appetite
• Your worries and mood (how you have been feeling, how they affect your life, and how difficult they can be)
• Coping strategies and things that you find helpful
• Your goals (what you want to achieve, what you want help with)

Talking about risk

We will ask you if you have thoughts of hurting yourself and if you have ever done so, if you feel that you may hurt someone else, and if you are worried about someone else hurting you.

If we think that you are in danger or are unsafe, then it is important that we get you the right support. We will do this by telling people who can help.

We know these things are hard to talk about but sharing this with us is the right thing to do.

Who will the MHST share information with?

When we meet with you we will talk about confidentiality. This means that:

• We will ask you for consent, that means your permission, to share some of the things we talk about with parents/family, school staff, GP (Doctor). Sometimes we will ask about other people like school nurse or social care, or any other professionals involved in supporting you.
• We will only discuss what you talk about in your session within our team and people that you have agreed we can speak to. However,  if we are concerned about your safety, or the safety of others, then we have to share this information even if you ask us not to. We will aim to talk to you first before we share information.

Video Recording: Video recordings of our sessions can help us look at the support we are providing you and ensure that you receive the best possible care we provide. You may be asked if it is OK for sessions to be recorded. We will tell you why the session is recorded and who it will be shared with. You can agree to this, or decline – it is your decision.

What is a Whole School Approach?

It is important for MHSTs to be aware of the action government is taking to support mental health and wellbeing in education, as outlined below, to help them understand how they can support settings and the framework their support fits into. MHSTs should understand the wider policies and guidance schools operate within. One of the core functions of the teams is to support the introduction or development of the whole school/college approach as outlined below.

A whole school/college approach is one that pervades all aspects of school/college life, including:

• Culture, ethos, and environment: the health and wellbeing of children and young people and staff is promoted through the ‘hidden’ or ‘informal’ curriculum, including leadership practice, the school’s policies, values and attitudes, together with the social and physical environment.
• Teaching: using the curriculum to develop children and young people’s knowledge about health and wellbeing; and
• Partnerships with families and the community: proactive engagement with families, outside agencies, and the wider community to promote consistent support for children’s health and wellbeing