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Student Mental Health and Well-Being
This page provides information and advice relevant to student mental health and well-being, plus useful resources for parents.
If you need urgent help:
Call HPFT's freephone 24/7 helpline: 0800 6444 101 or Call NHS 111 and select option two for mental health services In the event of a life threatening condition that requires an emergency intervention, call 999 for the emergency services.
Being the parent of a teenager can be tough at times, particularly when it comes to mental health. The mental health advice in these films is practical. These are things you can do that may help to improve your situation.
We are delighted to announce our engagement with the North Herts Mental Health Support Team, a programme funded by the DfE and Dept of Health and delivered by the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
Catarina Askham will be our Education Mental Health Practitioner and will be based in school each Wednesday. She will be able to provide a wide variety of support, from one to one interventions to group work, drop ins, workshops and whole year group support. This could be on a wide range of issues, everything from low mood and anxiety to body image, exam stress, sleep disorders etc. This will be an excellent addition to our offer to children, parents and also to staff.
The attached newsletter explains a bit more about the team and what they can offer. There is an option to 'opt-out' of any engagement with the service - please let admin@hitchinboys.co.uk know if this is the case. Any indiviidual interventions would be arranged via the pastoral team.
Mental Health Support Team - North Herts Newsletter Jan 2023
The Sandbox is an NHS-funded service to support children and young people in Hertfordshire with their mental health and well-being. In addition to providing NHS-funded support, The Sandbox is a central place for resources about common mental health issues, with information on how to access additional support or emergency services. More information at: https://sandbox.mindler.co.uk/
Hertfordshire’s children and young people, who are experiencing emotional health problems and/or their parents/care givers, can now use a new free digital wellbeing service, without the need for a professional referral - With YOUth. This new free service is for children and young people aged 5-18, who are registered with a GP in Hertfordshire. It will initially be available from Monday to Friday, 2-10pm at www.withyouth.org, providing:
Instant online messaging
Lumi Nova (most suitable for ages 7-12) - therapeutic digital gaming app providing goal based help for social/separation anxiety and/or phobias, using the most beneficial parts of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
The With YOUth team can help with problems such as mild to moderate anxiety, behavioural difficulties, school attendance, low mood, relationship difficulties, bullying or self-harm. The service is not for children and young people who are in crisis.
With YOUth/Lumi Nova is part of Hertfordshire’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) System Redesign Programme. The Programme has made an ongoing commitment to improving access to emotional and mental wellbeing support at the earliest point. You can find out more about the With YOUth Children and Young People’s Digital Wellbeing Service.
The Anxious Child
A free booklet for parents and carers wanting to know more about anxiety in children and young people: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/anxious-child
The latest newsletter from the School Nursing Team can be read below:
Just Talk is a Hertfordshire scheme encouraging our young people to show strength through talking about their mental health. Their website contains information for young people and their parents and carers.
Just Talk have also produced a flyer with links to many different sources of mental health and wellbeing information. You can download the flyer here:
Please also remind your sons that we have Sixth Form Just Talk ambassadors available, and an email address:
justtalk@hitchinboys.co.uk Boys can email for advice at any time.
If you have any concerns at all about a child’s safety or wellbeing, don’t hesitate to contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.
Togetherall is a safe, online community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing. https://togetherall.com/en-gb/
Local Hitchin charity Phase have launched their Renew programme, a series of short development sessions that you can do when and how best suits you. The programme has three key parts and aims to help you renew and restore you and others to develop your mental health and wellbeing. Each session should take no more that 30 minutes and there is a specific webpage for each one to make it easier to focus, engage and renew. More information via this link: https://phase-hitchin.org/blog/renew.
Parents who would like to are able to access a weekly drop in mindfulness session on Mondays at 1pm which is run via Zoom. This is open to anyone regardless of previous experience.
To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, the Department for Education have put together some useful links and sources of support so that children, parents, carers, and school staff can get the advice and help they need. The information can be found here.
EduSafe offer a bank of online resources written by experts that provide information and extra support. https://www.educare.co.uk/edusafe-cyp
The Anna Freud Centre have published strategies to help young people manage their mental health and wellbeing. You can access the resources here.
The coronavirus crisis has left many of us experiencing increased feelings of loneliness and isolation. Anyone can feel lonely, but the British Red Cross’s research with the Co-op shows that loneliness can badly affect young people. They have created some brand-new resources as part of the programme, designed to help develop understanding of loneliness and build confidence, coping skills and connections. The resources can be accessed on their website here:
Coronavirus mental health and wellbeing resources
Healthy Hub North Herts Wellbeing Support
Bereavement charity Stand-by-Me offers information, advice and support to help children, young people and their families living in North Hertfordshire & Stevenage understand and manage their grief.
Is the term used in Hertfordshire for services that work together to support families who need extra help. These are also known as early help services. If you need more help than your usual support network - for example your health visitor, school, doctor or family centre - they can work with you and your family to create a package of support. Families First is available to all Hertfordshire families with children under 18 (25 if they have a learning need or disability). More information including how to get help can be found on their website https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/families-first/families-first.aspx