School Wellbeing Service

The School Wellbeing Service (SWS) is a school based early intervention mental health support service. It is jointly funded by health, the local authority and schools.

Aim of the SWS

The aim of the service is to work within educational settings to strengthen and improve the emotional and mental health support arrangements for children and young people. This is done using a universal, targeted and specialist offer.

Objectives of the SWS

Our objectives are:

school staff will have increased knowledge and confidence in supporting children and young people with emotional and mental health needs
children and young people are identified early and supported effectively within schools or settings to prevent needs increasing and the requirements for specialist interventions where appropriate
increasing number of children and young people that feel more able to cope with mental health needs within a school setting

Principles of the SWS

Our principles are:

children and young people’s social, emotional and mental health is everyone’s responsibility
capacity building and the transferring skills to pastoral staff, within existing school pastoral systems and structures, will enable more effective support and evidence based interventions to take place
support needs to be responsive, flexible and child centred and will attempt to provide the right help when children and young people need it
services and support needs to be informed by the voice and experience of children and young people
different agencies, professionals and support staff will work as an integrated team around the child and their family, within the school setting to order to coordinate and maximise the care and support provided
early identification and support will secure, for many children and young people, the best future outcomes and reduce the likelihood of future emotional and mental health needs
where possible support for children and young people will be provided by known and trusted adults
health and social care pathways for children and young people are integrated and take account of each ‘child’s journey’ through services
a confident, committed and knowledgeable children’s workforce ensures that only those children and young people who are in need of CAMHS intervention progress to the specialist providers

Outcomes of the SWS

Our outcomes are:

school staff will have increased knowledge and confidence in supporting children and young people with emotional and mental health needs
children and young people are identified early and supported effectively within school to prevent needs increasing and the requirement for specialist intervention where appropriate
increasing number of children and young people feel more able to cope with emotional and mental health needs within a school setting

Emotional and mental health needs that the service can provide support with

Schools can request a consultation with their assigned School Wellbeing Worker (SWW) to discuss a student who is presenting with an emerging presenting mental health need such as:

anxiety
low mood
self harm
emotional regulation
low self esteem
lack of resilience
Emotional based School Avoidance (EBSA)

Schools can also discuss students with neuro-diverse, attachment and trauma based presentation for advice and guidance.