Mental health support scheme expands to more Sussex schools
More than half of families will soon be able to access one-to-one and group sessions
More Sussex schools will soon be offering professional mental health help for students following the expansion of an NHS scheme.
From September, pupils and their families in over 65% of Sussex schools will be able to access one-to-one and group support from specialist Mental Health Support Teams.
233,657 young people already have access to the service, with an extra 45 schools becoming a part of the scheme in the coming months.
The scheme will provide support for issues such as low mood, anxiety and trouble sleeping.
Louise Bartlett from Worthing, who’s thirteen-year-old daughter struggled to find support for her mental health in school, said:
“I’m not at school so I can’t see how she’s behaving at school, I can’t see the impact at school, I can only see the impact at home.
“It would be nice to talk to somebody who is in the education system, who understands mental health, to advise me on what to do at home.
“Because I’ve not seen anything, I think just having that put into place will be plenty.”
The scheme will also work with teaching staff to help them deal with students mental health.
But Hansa Raja, the founder of Eastbourne charity Holding Space, which supports parents who are dealing with their children's mental health, described it as a “start, not a solution”.
“There’s so much more that needs to be done across the board, as well as in schools to support children and young people with their mental health and wellbeing.
“It’s not going to alleviate the guilt.
“Parents just need that support, and not every child is going to have access to a mental health support team.”
The service forms part of the current Children and Young People Mental Health Strategy.