St John’s C of E Primary School is now working with the Wellbeing and Emotional Support Teams in Schools service (WEST). This service is designed to help children and young people ages 5-18 years access mental health and wellbeing support early on in educational settings. 

It's all about ensuring children and young people can get access to the right help as early as possible. 

There are lots of different clinicians and support staff who work in the team who have different expertise, but all work well together. In the team there are: 

• Education Mental Health Practitioners  

• Senior Practitioners  

• Clinical Service Leads  

• Support Staff 

 

Clare Danby is a Mental Health Practitioner working with us and is normally in school on a Tuesday.

 

Haley Swift is Senior Practitioner and will be in school occasionally.

 

 

 

 

Types of support offered 

The team offer short term support delivered by Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) and Senior Practitioners, using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) methods to help with mild to moderate low mood, wellbeing, anxiety and behavioural difficulties.  

CBT is a type of therapy that helps people learn handy and effective ways to manage their issues. 

These interventions will be delivered either face to face or virtually through 1:1 sessions. Group sessions are also available for children, young people, and their families, or for small groups of pupils, school staff or parents where a specific topic might be suitable for them only. 

EMHPs in schools may hold larger workshops and assemblies where they may talk about things like resilience and wellbeing so it can benefit all pupils/students. 

Teams will work in partnership with schools, as an additional resource to their existing mental health support, using a whole-system approach to promote resilience and wellbeing, enable earlier intervention, provide appropriate signposting and deliver evidence-based care and interventions. This will help the school to reflect on its current wellbeing mechanisms, highlighting areas which may require action to improve help for all staff, pupils and families. 

Accessing the service 

Referrals into the service are made through the Mental Health Lead within the specific education setting. 

The child or young person can also self-refer via the school staff, who will then discuss it with the Mental Health Lead. 

Parents/carers can also refer to the service via the designated Mental Health Lead within the school. 

The Mental Health Lead at St John’s C of E Primary School is Mrs R. Taylor 

If you would like more information about supporting your child then please contact the school.