The Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools (WAMHS) service aims to improve mental health and wellbeing for children and young people in schools, colleges, specialist and alternative provision education settings in City & Hackney.
WAMHS focuses on supporting education communities to build academic, social and emotional resilience and coping skills in students and staff to help them to identify and access additional support if needed. The service is also based on further developing knowledge and skills in education staff so that they are more confident and feel more able to support students/their families and school colleagues who may be experiencing mental health difficulties.
Working with a senior member of school staff a skilled education professional from Hackney Education (Wellbeing Framework Partner) supports each school and education setting to review their current wellbeing and mental health provision and develop an action plan across a number of areas to improve the support systems for mental health and wellbeing in school. A mental health professional (CAMHS worker) is embedded to work in the school setting supporting the action plan for a number of days a month.
Also in September 2019, City & Hackney became a Trailblazer site for a new initiative from the Government Green Paper on children & young people’s mental health. The MHSTs started working with some of the first wave of WAMHS Schools and are currently expanding the number of schools where
they are set up. The Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) support whole-school approaches to mental health by providing workshops about mental health related issues for children, young people and parents/carers, to help to reduce stigma and increase mental health awareness.
They offer focused evidence-based support to young people and their parents/carers when young people are experiencing mild-moderate difficulties with their emotional wellbeing that might best be managed within a school setting. They deliver the interventions to groups of young people and to their parents/carers alone or with their children.
If you are a parent or carer and your child attends a state-maintained school in City & Hackney it is likely that they are already or will be part of WAMHS from September 2020. You can find out more by asking your school directly and getting in touch with the school’s Designated Mental Health Lead.
If you are a professional you can contact our WAMHS Programme Manager with your query and we will aim to respond within 5 working days: sophie.mcelroy@learningtrust.co.uk
MHST referrals and queries can be directed to elft.mhst.referrals@nhs.net
Working with a senior member of school staff a skilled education professional from Hackney Learning Trust supports each school and education setting to review their current wellbeing and mental health provision and develop an action plan across a number of areas to improve the support systems for mental health and wellbeing in school. A mental health professional (CAMHS worker) is deployed to work in the school setting supporting the action plan for a number of days a month. As part of this they:
Also in September 2019, City & Hackney became a Trailblazer site for a new initiative from the Government Green Paper on children & young people’s mental health. The MHSTs started working with some of the first wave of WAMHS Schools and are currently expanding the number of schools where they are set up.
The Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) support whole-school approaches to mental health by providing workshops about mental health related issues for children, young people and parents/carers, to help to reduce stigma and increase mental health awareness.
They offer focussed evidence-based support to young people and their parents/carers when young people are experiencing mild-moderate difficulties with their emotional wellbeing that might best be managed within a school setting.
They deliver the interventions to groups of young people and to their parents/carers alone or with their children.
If you are a parent or carer and your child attends a state-maintained school in City & Hackney it is likely that they are already or will be part of WAMHS from September 2020.
You can find out more by asking your school directly and getting in touch with the school’s Designated Mental Health Lead.
If you are a professional you can contact our WAMHS Programme Manager with your query and we will aim to respond within 5 working days: Sophie.mcelroy@learningtrust.co.uk