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Parent guide to supporting Perfectionism

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Parent guide to supporting Perfectionism

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Parents Guide to Supporting Perfectionism

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Dealing with Change & Transitions (Primary)

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Dealing with Change & Transitions (Primary)

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Dealing with change & transitions (Secondary)

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Dealing with change & transitions (Secondary)

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Coping with Pressure at School (YP booklet)

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Coping with Pressure at School (YP booklet)

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Top tips for making friends : Mentally Healthy Schools

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Advice for children on forming and developing friendships.

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Helping Children after Long Holidays & Key Transitions

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Helping Children after Long Holidays & Key Transitions

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NHS latest statistics show that 1 in 5 children had a probable mental disorder in 2023. It is more important than ever for teachers to be aware of the emotional wellbeing of the children in their class. Educational Consultant, Alis Rocca shares some strategies that might help teachers be aware of children's emotions and deal with possible anxiety around children returning to school. Read our Strategies to Support Children's Wellbeing fact sheet to find out more.

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Strategies for Schools to help children after long holidays and key transitions | Nip in the Bud

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NHS latest statistics show that 1 in 5 children had a probable mental disorder in 2023. It is more important than ever for teachers to be aware of the emotional wellbeing of the children in their class. Educational Consultant, Alis Rocca shares some strategies that might help teachers be aware of children's emotions and deal with possible anxiety around children returning to school.

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My moving up to secondary school booklet : Mentally Healthy Schools

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A booklet for pupils and their parents and carers to work through together, to help both parents/carers and children feel more prepared for the change.

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December - Kooth Christmas operating hours

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December - Kooth Christmas operating hours

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Kooth and Qwell are available for support over the festive period

Free digital mental wellbeing support

Join the community and access free, safe and anonymous professional support online. There are
no waiting lists for support and no referral needed. Access to these platforms is available instantly
24/7. Support available includes:

Live chat or messaging with qualified mental health professionals

Self-help tools and activities

Online community

Kooth (for ages 10 to 25) www.kooth.com
Qwell (for ages 26+) www.qwell.io/

Live chat hours over the festive period

24th December (Christmas Eve) 12pm to 8pm

25th December (Christmas Day) 4pm to 8pm

26th December (Boxing Day) 12pm to 8pm

31st December (New Years Eve) 12pm to 8pm

1st January (New Years Day) 4pm to 8pm

Other days over the holiday period will follow their usual live chat hours of 12pm to 10pm on weekdays and 6pm to 10pm on weekends.

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Kooth and Qwell live chat hours over the holiday period - Mental Health

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Kooth and Qwell are available for support over the festive period

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Wigan MHST Low Mood Workshops at the Wigan Family Hubs  

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Wigan MHST Low Mood Workshops at the Wigan Family Hubs  

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We are pleased to offer a parent/carer workshop which outlines what low mood is, the symptoms, and how this impacts children and young people. We will provide support strategies to help manage the physical and emotional feelings of low mood. This workshop is 90 minutes long and will be delivered by the Mental Health Support Team in Schools as part of the Wigan Central Family Hub offer. If your child is struggling with low mood, this will be a useful, informative workshop for you! We look forward to meeting you.

The Meadows Young People's Centre

Ridyard Street, Wigan, WN5 9RQ

1pm - 2:30pm

Understanding low mood - The meadows 1 Tickets, Wed 23 Oct 2024 at 13:00 | Eventbrite

3pm - 4:30pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-low-mood-the-meadows-2-tickets-1029871622747

5pm - 6:30pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-low-mood-the-meadows-3-tickets-1029872284727

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Workshop to look at low mood, what can contribute and what can help.

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December - Young Minds - What to do if you find Christmas difficult

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December - Young Minds - What to do if you find Christmas difficult

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What to do if you find Christmas difficult

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Beth writes about her experiences, and shares how she has found ways of making Christmas a wonderful time of the year.

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Sleep - Embrace Online Workshop (Nov 2024)

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Sleep - Embrace Online Workshop (Nov 2024)

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About this event

This is a 2 hour workshop for parent/carers of children who struggle with sleep and explores the importance of sleep, how we sleep and useful strategies to help with:

Getting to sleep

Staying asleep

Getting up in the morning

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embrace online workshop (oct/nov 2024) - sleep issuezzz...

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embrace online workshop (oct/nov 2024) - sleep issuezzz... tickets

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Embrace Online Workshop (Oct/Nov 2024) - Sleep Issuezzz...

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Eventbrite - Embrace Wigan and Leigh presents Embrace Online Workshop (Oct/Nov 2024) - Sleep Issuezzz... - Friday, 1 November 2024 - Find event and ticket information.

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Find out how Christmas can affect your mental health, and what you can do to support your mental wellbeing during the festive season.

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December - Top tips for Mental Health support during Christmas

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December - Top tips for Mental Health support during Christmas

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Top tips for looking after your mental health at Christmas

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The festive season can be a time of joy and spending time with loved ones but it can also be a stressful and lonely period.

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Action for Happiness

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Daily actions to help you find new ways of moving forward.

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The 'Bedford Spirit' podcast- featuring Wigan MHST EMHP Megan Jones talking about 5 ways to wellbeing, self-care including diet, exercise and sleep, conversation starters around mental health and using the stress bucket.

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The Bedford SPIRIT, Episode 5 Your Child's Mental Health

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The only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff in schools, colleges and universities.

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The only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff.

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November - School Resources: Anti-Bullying

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November - School Resources: Anti-Bullying

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In this section you will find everything you need to make Anti-Bullying Week happen in your schools across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. All provided free of charge.

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Responding to Behaviour - Embrace Online Workshop (2 dates - 2024)

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Responding to Behaviour - Embrace Online Workshop (2 dates - 2024)

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embrace online workshop (sep/oct 2024) - responses to behaviour

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embrace online workshop (sep/oct 2024) - responses to behaviour tickets

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Embrace Online Workshop (Sep/Oct 2024) - Responses To Behaviour

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Eventbrite - Embrace Wigan and Leigh presents Embrace Online Workshop (Sep/Oct 2024) - Responses To Behaviour - Friday, 4 October 2024 - Find event and ticket information.

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School Based Anxiety - Information booklet

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School Based Anxiety - Information booklet

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Understanding ADHD - Embrace Online Workshop (2 dates - 2024)

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Understanding ADHD - Embrace Online Workshop (2 dates - 2024)

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This is a 2 hour workshop presented by Andy Sampson, Behaviour Support Coordinator for Embrace.

Andy covers his own experience of ADHD, from the point of view of a parent, but also his own reflection on his experiences growing up with ADHD.

Topics covered include:

Types of ADHD

Wider understanding

Co-existing issues

Positive responses

What helps?

Please note: This workshop does not cover behaviour strategies, but does explore ideas of how your child can be supported through understanding.

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embrace online workshop (aug/sep2024) - understanding adhd

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embrace online workshop (aug/sep2024) - understanding adhd tickets

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Embrace Online Workshop (Aug/Sep2024) - Understanding ADHD

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Eventbrite - Embrace Wigan and Leigh presents Embrace Online Workshop (Aug/Sep2024) - Understanding ADHD - Friday, 6 September 2024 - Find event and ticket information.

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Improved Family Relationships and Parenting (Wigan offers)

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Improved Family Relationships and Parenting (Wigan offers)

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Improved family relationships and parenting

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Improved family relationships and parenting

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Ask your MHST Practitioner about an introduction presentation to MHST.

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Family Hubs (wigan.gov.uk)

Family Hubs are a new way of bringing together all the support a family may need, from pregnancy through to young people turning 19 (or 25 if they have a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND).

Family hubs will operate as a network of services within your neighbourhood to provide accessible and connected services and support to all families.

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It's normal for children and young people to feel worried about something that's happening at school - for example, when starting a new school or during exams. Sometimes, however, school can become challenging, stressful or distressing over a much longer period of time.

If your child is feeling anxious about school, or not able to go, it can be exhausting for both of you. Mornings in particular can become really stressful for the whole family, as you try to juggle your child's feelings alongside the need to get them to school and get on with your other responsibilities such as work. Even if you manage to get your child to the school gate, you might know how difficult they're going to find the day - or know that you'll be facing the same problem tomorrow morning.

If you're in this situation, we've got advice to help you explore what's going on with your child, make changes at school that can help, and find the support you need if your child can't go to school.

Young people can feel anxious about school for lots of different reasons. They might be worried about making friends or fitting in, find schoolwork or lessons confusing, feel pressured to learn in a certain way or find their relationships with teachers difficult.

Sometimes, going through difficult experiences outside of school - such as bereavement, an illness in the family or being a young carer - can also make it harder for a child to feel settled at school.

For some young people, the school environment isn't right for them, and trying to fit into it can create a huge amount of stress. This might be the case if they are struggling with their mental health, or have a neurodiverse condition or Special Educational Need (SEN) such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia or dyspraxia. This can make the school environment anxiety-provoking and exhausting, especially if their condition or need is undiagnosed or not being well supported.

Young people might show they're feeling anxious about school by:

not wanting to get up and get ready

saying they can't go

worrying a lot about small issues, such as having the right equipment for a lesson

feeling sick, or having stomach aches or headaches

not sleeping well

not doing schoolwork, or their grades dropping

being angry or upset, or acting out - at school or at home

withdrawing - seeming low, quiet or depressed

It's often difficult for your child to articulate the problem. They may be in a heightened state of stress and not know why or feel able to explain. Your child probably wants to feel able to be in school, just as much as you want them to be there. In many cases it just doesn't feel possible.

Sometimes it can be difficult to work out what's making your child feel anxious, and the first step is often helping them to identify exactly what's worrying them. Once you understand the problem, you'll be in a much better position to make changes that can help.

Young people can find it hard to explain what's causing their feelings, and might not be able to answer direct questions like 'what's going on?' Using an anxiety iceberg can help to open up the conversation - giving you a more relaxed way of exploring together what's causing their anxiety.

Watch our video to find out how to make an anxiety iceberg with your child.

If you're making an anxiety iceberg with younger children, you might want to draw images on the iceberg, or encourage them to write simple words. With older children and teenagers, you can ask them to write key words and phrases on the iceberg, or do this as a mind map, with 'school' in the middle and all the things they're finding difficult around the outside.

Through this exercise, you might identify worries such as arriving at school, finding the environment noisy or overwhelming, finding lessons confusing, feeling lonely through the day, or feeling uncomfortable during specific subjects.

Once you understand what's going on for your child, you can use their anxiety iceberg or mind map to communicate with the school and ask for specific changes.

Follow these steps to start a conversation with the school:

Here are some examples of things you can ask the school for:

Remember that even though this situation can be really tough for you and your child, it's a good idea to maintain a positive relationship with the school. Recognise the support they're offering and any changes they're making. This will help you work together to make things better for your child.

Building a relationship with the attendance team at my son's school was hugely helpful, we were talking with them each day.

If your child isn't going to school at the moment, it might feel incredibly stressful and tiring. You might be worried about when they will be able to get back to school or the impact on their education. Or you might feel overwhelmed because you're juggling this alongside work and other family commitments. Things are probably feeling tough for your child too.

During this time, it's important to keep working with teachers and other staff to try strategies that can help your child get back to school. Keep encouraging them to take achievable steps towards attending too. When the right support is in place, it's often easier for a young person to get back into their usual routine if they can return to school as quickly as possible.

If your child's anxiety about school has built up to the point where they can't go, it's a good idea to get them some professional mental health or SEN support. Find out how to do this further down the page.

Alongside requesting professional help, try to:

The school's SEN and attendance policies should be on their website. Knowing what these are can support you during meetings with the school.

This can help if your child is unable to go to school for a longer period of time and you need to ask for more support, including provision of alternative full-time education.

Encourage your child to get up, do some studying and stop for lunch at the same times they would if they were in school. This will make adapting back to school easier. Explain to your child that if they cannot go to school, they will need to study at home - at least until alternative arrangements are put in place. Ask the school to help you facilitate tasks and activities your child can do and use online resources such as BBC Bitesize.

Not going to school could leave your child feeling really isolated. Make sure they stay connected to the outside world by seeing friends and family, doing activities they enjoy and getting outside for walks and exercise.

Speaking to friends online can be really important if your child is feeling isolated at home. Sometimes, however, you might notice that your child is spending lots of time gaming or on their phone, and that this is getting in the way of important daily activities like spending quality time with family, learning, or sleeping and eating well. If this is becoming a problem, have a look at our guide to gaming or guide to social media for more information and advice.

Local authorities must provide alternative education if a child of compulsory school age is unable to attend school over a longer period of time. If your child cannot attend school because of a mental or physical health issue, the local authority should provide an alternative as soon as it is clear that they will be away from school for more than 15 days (either consecutively or over time). Find out how to request alternative education.

Getting back to school after weeks or months may feel extremely difficult for your child, but you and the school can help make it more manageable. Here are some things you can do to help:

Set small, achievable targets, such as visiting the building outside school hours or attending one lesson.

Request a home visit from a school staff member so your child can check in while feeling safe, see that the school cares and discuss any strategies that might help them.

Ask for a reduced timetable, with regular reviews to discuss building back up at a manageable rate.

Discuss changing classes or sets if your child thinks this would help.

Focus on qualifications needed for what your child wants to do next, perhaps dropping a less relevant GCSE to reduce stress.

My son wasn't questioned about his absence when he did feel able to pop in for favourite lessons, helping to ease him back into full days of education.

If your child is struggling with anxiety and it's affecting their day-to-day life, learning or relationships, it's a good idea to find some professional support. Speaking to the GP and finding them a counsellor or therapist are two good places to start. You can find more information about GPs, counsellors and other mental health services in our guide to getting support from mental health services.

If there is no other obvious reason for your child's inability to attend school, they may have an undiagnosed Special Educational Need (SEN) such as dyslexia, autism or ADHD.

If you think this is the case:

Speak to the school's SENCO or your GP to ask for a referral for an assessment.

While you are waiting for an assessment, you can also ask the SENCO to refer your child for support from other professionals, such as an Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Therapist. These professionals can identify specific needs and make recommendations for additional support the school can put in place - even if your child hasn't had a formal diagnosis yet.

SEN support at school
If your child is diagnosed with SEN, extra support and adjustments should be put in place at school to help them attend and learn. This is called SEN support, and should be available within the school's existing resources. Speak to the school's SENCO in the first instance about how the school will support your child.
Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans
If you do not think your child's needs can be met by the school's existing resources, you can ask the local authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment (EHC needs assessment). If the local authority decides your child needs additional support, they will then make an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan). This outlines how the extra support they need will be provided. Find out more about EHC plans.
Your Local Offer
Your Local Offer is the information, support and services available for young people with SEN, and for their parents and families. You can find out what support is available in your area by going to your local authority's website and searching for their Local Offer.

While we take care to ensure that the organisations we signpost to provide high quality information and advice, we cannot take responsibility for any specific pieces of advice they may offer. We encourage parents and carers to always explore the website of a linked service or organisation to understand who they are and what support they offer before engaging with them.

We have more tips and advice on supporting your child with school, and information about how you can get in touch with our Parents Helpline.
This page was reviewed in December 2022. It was created with parents and carers with lived experience of supporting their child or young person with school anxiety. We will next review the page in 2025. YoungMinds is a proud member of PIF TICK - the UK's quality mark for trusted health information.
Whether you love the page or think something is missing, we appreciate your feedback. It all helps us to support more young people with their mental health.

Please be aware that this form isn't a mental health support service. If your child is in crisis right now and you want to talk to someone urgently, find out who to contact on our urgent help page.

At YoungMinds we take your privacy seriously. If you'd like to read more about how we keep the information we collect safe, take a look at our privacy policy.

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School Anxiety and Refusal | Parent Guide to Support

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If your child is anxious about school, or refusing to go to school at all, read our tips and advice on how you can support their mental health.

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Mental health and wellbeing calendar: summer term 2024 : Mentally Healthy Schools

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A calendar of curriculum themes and occasions linked to mental health for the 2024 summer term, with activity ideas and suggestions for each theme.

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November - NSPCC Podcast: Anti-Bullying in Schools

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November - NSPCC Podcast: Anti-Bullying in Schools

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Podcast: anti-bullying in schools | NSPCC Learning

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What makes an effective anti-bullying policy for schools? Gain an insight into why it’s important to put your safeguarding procedures into practice.

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Collective voice of parents/carers of children and young people aged 0-25 in the Wigan Borough with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)

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Guidance for school staff on supporting pupils with difficulties with mental wellbeing and school attendance.

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School attendance and mental wellbeing 2024

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Mental health and education experts at Anna Freud hold a free seminar every term on a different topic linked to mental health and wellbeing.

Past seminars can be viewed online here.

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Mental health and education experts at the Anna Freud Centre hold a free seminar every term on a different topic linked to mental health and wellbeing.

The seminars feature a range of experts from many different organisations, including the Early Intervention Foundation, UK Trauma Council and Education Support. The seminars always feature a speaker who currently works in a school or college, sharing practical advice and reflecting on their experiences.

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Mental health in schools and colleges: free seminars

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Mental health and education experts at the Anna Freud Centre hold a free seminar every term on a different topic linked to mental health and wellbeing. The seminars feature a range of experts from many different organisations, including the Early Intervention Foundation, UK Trauma Council and Education Support.

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Wigan CAMHS Mental Health Support Team (MHST)

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155 Manchester Road, Higher Ince, WN2 2JA Our team operate all year round, including school holidays. You should already have the contact details of your designated MHST practitioner and their supervisor. For general queries, contact: wiganmhst@gmmh.nhs.uk Opening hours: Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm

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November  - Virtual Assembly: Anti-Bullying Week

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November  - Virtual Assembly: Anti-Bullying Week

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Our World Kindness Day Assembly!

This year, we're kicking off Anti-Bullying Week with our virtual World Kindness Day Assembly! This will take place on Monday 13th November 2023 and is free for all primary schools. Our assemblies were fully booked last year, so make sure you register you interest here so you can be the first to find out when booking opens. We'll also be releasing a brand new World Kindness Day Resource Pack for schools.

We're super excited for this year's assembly. Last year, more than 45,000 children from 200 schools took part in our assemblies, and we're planning for 2023 to be even bigger!

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Anti-Bullying Week 2023 - School of Kindness

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What is Anti-Bullying Week, and how can your school get involved? Take part in free workshops, and download lesson plans and activities.

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MHST Guide For Parents/Carers - September 2024 

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource

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Wigan Talking Therapies offers free NHS therapy for people registered with a Wigan GP with common mental health problems.

Our service is for adults aged 16+ with mild-moderate mental health problems like depression, anxiety and stress. We can help with other problems like panic attacks, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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24/7 Mental Health Crisis Helpline: 0800 953 0285

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November  -Teacher Resources: Anti-Bullying

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November  -Teacher Resources: Anti-Bullying

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BBC resources. Includes current and past 'live lessons'.

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Anti-Bullying Week 2024: Teacher Resources

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A collection of teaching resources for primary and secondary schools designed to complement Anti-Bullying Week programmes.

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World Mental Health Day : Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning

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CAMHS Practitioner Advice Line 01452 894272 Guidance for professionals in Gloucestershire working with young people with mental health or emotional wellbeing concerns

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Online Mental Health Support for Children & Young People

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Kooth.com is commissioned by the NHS, Local Authorities, charities and businesses to provide anonymous and personalised mental health support for Children and Young People

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Support YoungMinds this World Mental Health Day by saying #HelloYellow. Wear yellow, raise vital funds for YoungMinds and show young people they're not alone.

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We are a user-led charity dedicated to supporting disabled people and their families. We have a range of projects that aim to enhance the lives of the people we support.

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© Copyright Embrace Wigan and Leigh 2022. All Rights Reserved Embrace Wigan and Leigh Registered Charity Number 1082663 (England and Wales)

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Resource library : Mentally Healthy Schools

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Find quality-assured resource to help support the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and staff at primary schools.

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Keeping Safe - Service & safety information for young people

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Keeping Safe - Service & safety information for young people

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Welcome to the A-Team Hub; part of the Leigh Community Trust’s core delivery, supporting children and young adults with Neurodevelopmental issues such as autism, ADHD, Cerebal Palsy and other SEND conditions; their families, and carers in the Wigan Borough and also North West .

We focus on pre & post-diagnostic support and life-changing early intervention with autistic children and young people.

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Welcome to the A-Team Hub SEND Services for Leigh

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School Staff: Looking After Your Well-Being

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School Staff: Looking After Your Well-Being

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Wellbeing staff tips- Young minds helloyellow

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Breaking Barriers is a registered charity set up by 3 parents of disabled children. It is our aim to raise awareness and challenge the barriers to inclusion in society for disabled children & young people aged 0-25 years old.

We also support adults with autism aged 18+.

We believe that individuality should be celebrated and everyone has a vital role to play.

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Breaking Barriers NW Bolton Charity Disabled Autism

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Breaking Barriers NW Bolton Charity for Disabled Children and Adults with Autism and Asperger's ABAG Adult Bolton Asperger's Group Manchester

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The BYOU project Wigan and Leigh, is an action group that campaigns for positive change for LGBTQ+ Young People. If you’re under 19, living in Wigan Borough, LGBTQ and want to get involved, come and join us.

We meet every week and offer support, advice, activities and safe meeting places.

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/LINC2/Survival-Guide/Information-for/LGBT/More-about-the-ByoU-Project.aspx

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Past MHST Mental Health Lead Event (Sept 2023)

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Past MHST Mental Health Lead Event (Sept 2023)

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Wigan MHST Senior MHL Networking Event Septemember 2023

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Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre has over 15 years' experience of working with young carers, from as young as five, through their teenage years and right up until they become independent adults. We work across the whole of Wigan borough and are a vibrant charity with a big heart. We have some amazing success stories and feel proud to be part of a young carer's journey into adulthood - our track record speaks for itself; we now have some young adult carers volunteering - as they are eager to 'give something back' to the charity which has supported them.

Young carer definitions

There are two major pieces of legislation that define and enshrine rights for young carers. The Care Act and the Children and Families Act. Their definitions differ.

"Young carer means a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for an adult" (Care Act (2014), Section 63, 7).

Alternatively, "young carer" means a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person (but this is qualified by section 17ZB(3)). Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) Part 5 - Welfare of children.

We take the wider definition to cover siblings, and even on occasion people outside of the immediate family.

We support young adult carers up to the age of 24. Increasingly we are seeing use of the term 'Transition Age Carer' to cover the transition into adulthood and this covers the age range 14-24.

The term young adult carer being reserved for carers who are adult, but still young.

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I'm a young carer * Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre

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Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre has over 15 years' experience of working with young carers, from as young as five, through their teenage years and right up until they become independent adults. We work across the whole of Wigan borough and are a vibrant charity with a big heart.

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LINC 2 - Young People in the Wigan Borough

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LINC 2 - Young People in the Wigan Borough

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LINC 2 - Young persons survival guide (wigan.gov.uk)

Find out about things to do, get information about issues that might affect you, find out about services that are here to support you and discover the latest opportunities for young people in Wigan and Leigh.

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The Proud Trust is an LGBT+ youth charity empowering young people to be proud of who they are. The Proud Trust delivers youth work and 1-1 support across Greater Manchester. The charity also runs a national training and inclusion programme for schools, Live Chat, and manages Manchester’s LGBT+ Centre, The Proud Place.

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The Proud Trust is an LGBT+ organisation that supports LGBT+ young people through youth groups, peer support, mentoring programs and the Proud Connections chat service.

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During the height of Lockdown in 2020, X-Factor winner Sam Bailey gave free voice coaching sessions to two young Wigan Youth Zone members supported by Little Dreams Foundation.

Little Dreams Foundation, was set up in the year 2000 by husband and wife stars Phil and Orianne Collins as an international initiative to support young talent in music, arts and sports.

Sam, a huge Phil Collins fan, donated her time during the lockdown to conduct online training sessions to teach talented young singers Emily Pearce, 17, and Georgia Linde, 15, performance techniques including body and face movements as part of the programme.

Sam Bailey said; “I am loving working with Emily and Georgia from Wigan Youth Zone, they are two very talented young ladies with great potential and it’s great to be able to share some wisdom with them. Phil has been an inspiration for my whole family my entire life, so to be able to pay it forward in such a great way is fantastic!”

Since the Youth Zones involved with the Little Dreams Foundation, the teens have had extraordinary opportunities such as flying out to Miami and performing with Phil Collins himself and other Little Dreamers. They have been supported by the foundation through Wigan Youth Zone for two years now and have developed massively both personally and musically.

Georgia said: “I have had an amazing experience within the past two years being with the Little Dreamers. I never thought I would be able to experience such great opportunities, the favourite being singing with Phil Collins in Miami. I am thoroughly enjoying working on my new material and it has been amazing to work with Sam who is really helping me with my performance.”

Nikki Varley, Deputy Head of Youth Work at Wigan Youth Zone said: “Our tagline at the centre is ‘Somewhere to go, Something to do, Someone to talk to’ and this messaging is more important than ever before with the current crisis at hand.

Emily said: It feels amazing to get training off a celebrity who so many people know, we are fans of Sam, and she has years of experience in the industry that she can share with us. It’s been very empowering for me. The zoom sessions are something to look forward to and I’ve already learned a lot,”

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See what We Offer Our activities within Wigan Youth Zone and out in the community have been enjoyed more than half a million times by young people from across Wigan and Leigh. As one of the largest youth zones in Europe, we're home to state-of-the-art facilities that young people can't find anywhere else in one [...]

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource

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Pathway 2 Participation: Mentoring, Sports & Outdoor Activities

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Pathway 2 Participation: Mentoring, Sports & Outdoor Activities

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Pathway 2 Participation programme improving the health and wellbeing of hundreds of youngsters

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Initiative provides support to young people aged 8-16 through one-to-one mentoring, sports, leisure and educational opportunities.

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Mental Health Support Teams in Schools & Colleges

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Mental Health Support Teams in Schools & Colleges

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In 2017, the Government published its Green Paper for Transforming children and young people's mental health, which detailed proposals for expanding access to mental health care for children and young people, building on the national NHS transformation programme which was already underway.

The proposals were focused on providing additional support through schools and colleges and reducing waiting times for treatment. Following a 13-week public consultation, during which the Government received more than 2,700 responses, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education published its Response to the Children and Young People's Mental Health Green Paper Consultation.

These core commitments are delivered through a joint and collaborative programme led by the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education and NHS England, with support from Health Education England and Public Health England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Supported by these partners, NHS England is leading the delivery of two of the programme's main commitments:

Establishing Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in education settings, jointly delivered with the Department for Education. As part of the MHST workforce structure, new roles called Educational Mental Health Practitioners have been created and are being trained in evidence-based interventions. The teams will act as a link with local children and young people's mental health (CYPMH) services and be supervised by NHS staff;

Between 2018- 2022, NHS England funded 14 pilot sites. Pilot sites worked with NHS England to build consensus on the approach to defining and measuring waiting times. The piloting phase concluded in March 2022 and the work of pilots informed the definition of the waiting time metric that was outlined in the Clinical Review of Standards consultation feedback. NHS England will continue to support systems to transform to improve access, outcomes and experience.

The programme's other commitments include the training of Senior Mental Health Leads in schools and colleges, and good progress has been made on the commitment to offer senior mental health lead training to all eligible state-funded schools and colleges in England by 2025.

In March 2021, the government announced £79 million to boost mental health support for children and young people in England. The new funding was part of the £500 million already announced for mental health support during the 2020 Spending Review. Over the course of 2021/22, it will be used to expand the support available to children and young people, including increasing the number of MHSTs in schools and colleges and improving access and reducing waiting times for community mental health support.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs)

MHSTs have three core functions:

to deliver evidence-based interventions for mild-to-moderate mental health issues;

support the senior mental health lead (where established) in each school or college to introduce or develop whole school or college approach and;

give timely advice to school and college staff, and liaise with external specialist service to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.

In 2018/19, the first wave of MHSTs was commissioned - 58 'Trailblazer' teams - followed by a further 125 MHSTs in 2019/20 and 104 MHSTs in 20/21. By Spring 2022 MHSTs covered 26% of pupils in schools and learners in Further Education achieving the NHS Long Term Plan coverage ambition a year early. Since then, a further 111 MHSTs have been established and as of Spring 2023, 398 teams are operational covering 6,800 schools and colleges and 35% of pupils in schools and learners in Further Education. Additional to this, 100 more teams undertook training during 22/23. We therefore expect approximately 500 MHST to be up and running by 2024. A further 109 teams have been commissioned for 2023/24 (Waves 9 and 10).

Early evaluation of the Trailblazer programme can be found on the University of Birmingham's website.

MHST site selection process

NHS England regional teams are leading local areas through the further rollout of MHSTs, working with regional teams from the Department for Education and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. This includes development of multi-year plans for MHST site selection (incorporating 2021/22 to 2023/24). Taking a multi-year approach improves strategic planning abilities for both regions and MHSTs and is underpinned by the principles of achieving equitable MHST coverage across England and focusing on placing MHSTs where there are higher levels of need, inequality and disadvantage.

As part the approach, each Integrated Care System (ICS) is allocated a share of the MHSTs in each year based upon their local population of children and young people. Integrated Care Systems are expected to work in collaboration with health and wider local system partners to determine where the new teams will be located within their area.

As regions and ICSs determine where MHSTs will be placed, they will consider:

reducing health inequalities and promoting equality of access to services, specifically considering how MHSTs will reach those children and young people with high level of need and most at risk of poor outcomes.

how an MHST will add to the emotional and mental health support already in place.

the 'state of readiness' within a local area, for example if a local health provider is ready to recruit and employ staff or if an education setting is ready to host the MHST or needs more time to prepare.

Each MHST is expected to provide sufficient capacity to deliver services to a population of c.7000 to 8000 pupils, or between 10 and 20 education settings.

Education settings who are interested in learning more about MHST delivery in their local area are encouraged to contact the lead in their Local Authority who is responsible for the education portfolio or their local ICS.

MHSTs will contribute to the NHS Long Term Plan's ambition that at least an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will be able to access NHS-funded mental health services by 2023/24.

The table below summarises the number of operational and mobilising Mental Health Support Teams, as of May 2023. Precise numbers may be subject to slight variation due to local mergers, as well recruitment in the case of later waves.

North East and Yorkshire

Total for the region: 92

North West

Total for the region: 68

East of England

Total for the region: 72

Midlands

Total for the region: 121

London

Total for the region: 99

South East

Total for the region: 97

South West

Total for the region: 58

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Mental health support in schools and colleges

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In 2017, the Government published its Green Paper for Transforming children and young people's mental health, which detailed proposals for expanding access to mental health care for children and young people, building on the national NHS transformation programme which was already underway.

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Single Session Counselling

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MHST is not an urgent service.

If a young person is self-harming or having suicidal thoughts, please contact the CAMHS duty worker Monday to Friday (9-5pm) on 01942 764 473 for risk advice and to consider if urgent assessment is required.

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Safety Advice for Children & Young People

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Safety Advice for Children & Young People

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Find out how your school or college can apply for a grant and access training to help develop a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing.

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MHST School & College Allocations Sept 2024

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MHST School & College Allocations Sept 2024

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Please note: school allocations are subject to change depending on the needs of the service, school engagement, recruitment of new staff and practitioner capacity.

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Recommended Reading for Teens on Mental Health and Well-Being

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Recommended Reading for Teens on Mental Health and Well-Being

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Pride Month toolkit : Mentally Healthy Schools

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Two toolkits - one for primary schools, one for secondary schools & FE settings - full of resources to celebrate and support those who identify as LGBTQIA+ during Pride Month and beyond.

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My moving up to secondary school booklet : Mentally Healthy Schools

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A booklet for pupils and their parents and carers to work through together, to help both parents/carers and children feel more prepared for the change.

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Text and Telephone support for Young People

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Text and Telephone support for Young People

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Skip to content

Watch the full video

Thinking of suicide?

Are you, or is a young person you know, not coping with life? For confidential suicide prevention advice contact HOPELINE247.

My whole way of thinking has changed. I feel positive about my future and the people around me. I'm now looking forward to the future and helping others just like me!

Thank you so much for the incredible support PAPYRUS and HOPELINE247 has given me. You helped me in that moment and it kept me alive.

I intend to continue to fundraise for and promote PAPYRUS. I am so proud and humbled to be involved with a wonderful charity, and to have received the support that I have.

Having been personally bereaved by suicide I understand the importance and need for our charity. I am surrounded by others who are as passionate as I am about saving lives.

* All feedback is provided by people who contact PAPYRUS. All feedback has full consent of the user and the user remains fully anonymous. Some feedback may have been adapted to keep the users anonymity.

Our latest news

Stay up to date with PAPYRUS; our news section is regularly updated with helpful advice and guidance, as well as information about our upcoming events and campaigns. If you have any questions or queries please get in touch.

Our upcoming events

Please see below some of our upcoming and exciting events including fundraisers and charity events we will be attending. For more information please get in touch.

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Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide

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PAPYRUS UK is a charity for the prevention of young suicide (under 35) in the UK | Call PAPYRUS HOPELINE247 on 0800 068 4141 Now

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Supporting an Anxious Child (5-11) - Silvercloud online programme

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Supporting an Anxious Child (5-11) - Silvercloud online programme

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Supporting an Anxious Teen - Silvercloud Online programme

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Supporting an Anxious Teen - Silvercloud Online programme

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A Support Service for Those Affected by Domestic Violence

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A Support Service for Those Affected by Domestic Violence

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A Support Service for Victims of Sexual Assault

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A Support Service for Victims of Sexual Assault

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Welcome to Saint Mary's
Sexual Assault Referral Centre
Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) provides a comprehensive and co-ordinated forensic, counselling and aftercare service to men, women and children living in the Greater Manchester area who have experienced rape or sexual assault, whether this has happened recently or in the past. We also offer immediate crisis support and a forensic service to Cheshire.
You can use our services without making a report to the police or we can support you if and when you want to speak to the police

If you want to make a referral just follow our step-by-step guide in the 'our services' section or call 0161 276 6515

COVID-19 Update

Saint Mary's SARC remains available to provide healthcare and support services to victims of rape and sexual assault.

You can report to the Police or contact our 24 hour helpline directly on 0161 276 6515.

If you wish to be seen, please call us first.

We are not able to see people if they don't have an appointment.

If you would like to be seen for an examination, without Police involvement, we can discuss this with you.

The safety of our staff and patients is very important to us and we take this very seriously.

Saint Mary's SARC can assure you that we are following current legislation and guidance.

If you've been sexually assaulted during this time of enforced lockdown, there's no need to suffer in silence.

We offer non-judgemental care & support regardless of the circumstances.

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Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) provides a comprehensive and co-ordinated forensic, counselling and aftercare service to men, women and children living in the Greater Manchester area who have experienced rape or sexual assault, whether this has happened recently or in the past. We also offer immediate crisis support and a forensic service to Cheshire.

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Advice for Supporting Someone with an Eating Disorder

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Advice for Supporting Someone with an Eating Disorder

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Advice and Support for Families Where a Child has ASC (or is awaiting a diagnosis)

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Advice and Support for Families Where a Child has ASC (or is awaiting a diagnosis)

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© Copyright Embrace Wigan and Leigh 2022. All Rights Reserved Embrace Wigan and Leigh Registered Charity Number 1082663 (England and Wales)

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Advice for Supporting Children Through Bereavement

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Advice for Supporting Children Through Bereavement

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Neurodevelopmental Support - Full Padlet

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Neurodevelopmental Support - Full Padlet

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An additional Padlet created purely to provide information, signposting and advice around neurodevelopmental support.

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Wigan Safeguarding Childrens Board - Homepage

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Wigan Safeguarding Children's Board - Information and resources for children, parents and professionals about making sure children are safe and protected.

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3. Collect Parent and Child SDQ (Primary)

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3. Collect Parent and Child SDQ (Primary)

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SDQ Questionnaires, Scoring Aids and Clinical Bands

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4. Email the Referral Form, Consent Form and RCADS/SDQ to wiganmhst@gmmh.nhs.uk

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4. Email the Referral Form, Consent Form and RCADS/SDQ to wiganmhst@gmmh.nhs.uk

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RCADS Info for Teachers, Parents & Young People

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RCADS Info for Teachers, Parents & Young People

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Information to help completing the RCADS

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SDQ Info for Teachers, Parents & Young People

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SDQ Info for Teachers, Parents & Young People

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Information sheets to help complete the SDQ

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Embrace delivers free online workshops over Zoom on a range of subjects that include:

Sleep Issues

Understanding ADHD

Responding to Behaviour

These sessions are open to parents/carers who live in the Wigan Borough