Mental Health & Wellbeing
This page is designed to provide you, as a parent/carer, and your child, information and guidance regarding support available to promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
Support in School
We have a number of provisions and interventions that we offer in school to support mental health and wellbeing and in turn, engagement in learning.
Self-esteem can help a person to succeed in what they put their mind to. Click here for advice from Young Minds for how to make a difference to your child’s self-esteem.
As part of our whole school approach to mental health, we work closely with the Mental Health Support Team, now known as Thought-full. Their practitioners are in school every week to work with students we have identified as needing 1:1 therapeutic intervention.
To find out more about Thought-Full click here.
The Thought-Full team also have a YouTube page where they create informational videos you may find helpful such as:
An overview of what the MHST do and what an MHST intervention would be like:
An overview of what emotional regulation is and how to support it:
Upcoming Awareness Days
Mental Health Awareness Week starts on Monday 15th May and is one of the biggest mental health awareness events in the year. The week is organised by the Mental Health Foundation, which has chosen the theme of anxiety for this year, which is a key concern among our young people.
To help us to support your child with any anxiety they may be experiencing, especially in the lead up to exams, the following resources may be useful:
- Mental Health Factsheet for young people – A resource for young people to help them better understand the facts and figures around mental health, and how to access support please click here.
- Managing stress and anxiety: tips for students – a handout with tips and exercises to combat stress and anxiety please click here.
Previous Awareness Day(s) this year
Children’s Mental Health Week 6th-12th February. The theme this year is ‘Let’s Connect’.
Place2Be are encouraging people to connect with others in healthy, rewarding, and meaningful ways. Watch the video below to learn more about the theme.
To view the Let’s Connect video please click here.
To view some tips and advice to help families explore the theme of ‘Let’s Connect’ at home please click here
Parent/Carer Support Groups & Online Training Courses
Free webinars for parents and carers on supporting the wellbeing of young people before and after exam results day.
The Anna Freud Centre is offering free webinars to all parents and carers of children in Year 11 and Year 13 receiving their exam results this summer.
Please click here for more information and how to book.
Supporting a child with mental ill health can be exhausting, demanding and frustrating. Often, it is difficult to find the help that they need and it is easy to end up feeling isolated.
Our Parent Support group is for parents and carers of children and young people with mental ill health in the Crawley area and aims to provide a calm, relaxed and non-judgemental space to get away from it all for a short time and find support from people who ‘get it’. The group will run every Saturday morning from 9.30 – 11.30, and you can come along anytime without the need to book.
To view their flyer which provides further information please click here.
West Sussex Mind is a local service which provides online courses for parents and carers around all sorts of aspects of children and young people’s wellbeing. Most of the courses are either free or low-cost and you will benefit from the input of an experienced professional, as well as the shared experience of other families.
Their current offer can be viewed on their website and upcoming courses include: Building your child’s self-esteem; Social anxiety and selective mutism; Supporting your bereaved child, Self Harm Parents and Carers Network, Social Media and Mental Health; and Adverse childhood experiences and trauma.
To find out more about upcoming training on offer, please click here.
Local Youth Groups
Youth music organisation AudioActive are running FREE music sessions for young people in Crawley.
Tuesdays – ‘Vocalise’ Young Women’s Song Writing & Wellbeing 17.30 – 19.00 (13 – 19yrs)
Wednesdays – Music Production & Lyric Writing 17.30 – 19.30 (12 – 18yrs)
Thursday – ‘Room to Rant’ Young Men’s Rap project with a focus on mental health (16 – 25yrs)
The sessions take place at Crawley Museum (103 High St, Crawley RH10 1DD).
Sign up at: www.audioactive.org.uk/get-involved
Useful Resources
e-wellbeing is a digital wellbeing service and participation group for young people, run by YMCA DownsLink Group. Their aim is for all young people to be able to access the right support and information around their emotional health and wellbeing, in the right place, at a time that is right for them.
New for June 2022: West Sussex Single Point of Access (SPoA) for emotional wellbeing and mental health support. This is led by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). The new arrangement is delivered in partnership with West Sussex County Council’s Youth Emotional Support Service (YES) and YMCA Dialogue. Young people, parents/carers and wider professionals can now make a referral to the West Sussex SPoA at www.e-wellbeing.co.uk/support.
For more information, please take a look at the service leaflet by clicking here.
West Sussex County Council recognise the importance of looking after our emotional health and have created a page with a wealth of information for young people, parents/carers, and professionals.
New for February 2022: The link here will take you to a useful toolkit which has been created for parents/carers to help you:
- to understand what good mental health looks like for children and young people
- to have a better awareness of when difficulties may arise and what to look out for
- to know how to help your child if you feel they are struggling
- to understand when and how to get professional help
Partners in East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove have commissioned West Sussex Mind, YMCA Downslink Group and Allsorts Youth Project to deliver training and support on self-harm for schools, colleges and parents/carers across the whole of Sussex. To find the latest training offers, please click here.
Talking about self-harm can be difficult and it can be hard to know how to have a conversation about it. For further information and support for self-harm, please click here or take a look at these resources from WSCC:
A free service for young people 11-18 looking for support with their well-being. This requires a referral. More information can be found here.
The Chat Health text service is offered by School Nursing. It is a safe easy way to speak with a qualified health professional via text message to get confidential advice. This is discrete, quick, and can be anonymous.
Advice for Teens in West Sussex.
Text: 07480 635 424
- Organisation: Sussex Community NHS Trust
- Service: West Sussex school nursing service
- For: Young people aged 11-19
- Response time: Within 24 hours, 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday (except bank holidays)
More information can be found here: https://youtu.be/DSl3zN_YoNk
A mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need.
Young Minds Parents Helpline – Click here for contact information for parents to receive support for their children.
Mental health support for young people.
To find out more about upcoming training on offer, please click here.
YAC (Youth Advice Centre) – Crawley
Support & Advice Drop-Ins (11-25)
Young people can drop-in to the YAC to access same-day support and advice sessions with our friendly Support & Advice workers. Young people can access support and advice for a wide range of wellbeing issues including:
- Mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Physical and sexual health
- Employment & education
- Money, welfare and debt
- Substance misuse
- Exploitation
- Gender & sexuality
How to access: Any young-person (aged 11-25) can drop-in to the YAC on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays between 2-6pm to access same-day 1:1 Support & Advice sessions.
There are times when we all feel the strain, but there are a number of ways we can support our children and young people to give them the best chance to stay mentally healthy. This useful page from the NHS provides tips for supporting your child and your own mental health, as well as information on support services available.
Contact
All staff in the school have a responsibility to promote and support the mental health of our students, but if you’d like to contact someone specifically about this area, you can go to any of the following members of staff:
Mr Webster
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Assistant Headteacher
Mrs White
Safeguarding Manager
Mr Green
Safeguarding Manager
If you have any concerns or worries, please email us at: safeguarding@www.holytrinitycrawley.org.uk