Helping education staff to support young people’s mental health
Education staff are being given the opportunity to take part in a series of interactive training sessions focused on young people’s mental health.
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s (NSFT) Psychology in Schools Team have joined forces with the Unity Partnership Trust to arrange six sessions looking at how mental health can impact engagement in the classroom and what staff can do to help.
They have been designed in response to figures which show an 81% increase in referrals for children and young people’s mental health services over the past year.
Dr Beth Mosley MBE, Consultant Clinical Psychologist with NSFT, is leading on the project with Andy Samways, Director of Teaching School Hub, Unity Schools Partnership.
She said: “The more we can work together to support young people the better. This is a great opportunity for education and health to share their knowledge and skills and be proactive in supporting our young people as they face the challenges of life.”
The sessions have been produced in collaboration with school staff to ensure that the content is relevant to the current issues they are facing. They include up-to-date information, grounded in the appropriate theory and research, which will be delivered by experienced NHS clinicians who work with young people presenting with mental health need.
Their aim is to enhance staff’s knowledge and confidence with managing the current challenges they are experiencing, providing them with practical ways they can support young people every-day as part of their routine classroom practice.
The subjects are appropriate for staff in both primary and secondary schools and include:
- The essentials about young people and the developing brain
- Supporting emotion regulation in the classroom
- Communication strategies – how to get the best out of young people
- Understanding the function of behaviour and opportunities for support
- Adverse childhood experiences and the importance of relational strategies
- Anxiety in focus; proactive and reactive strategies
- Building resilience and helping young people thrive
- Current challenges for today’s young people
The sessions will last approximately 75 minutes each and will take place monthly between November and May. For more information and to complete a booking, go to https://researchschool.org.uk/unity/event/mental-health-matters-translating-evidence-in-to-practice-in-classrooms