Support for Schools
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Education Team
Who are we?
The Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Education Team is part of East Sussex County Council’s Safeguarding and Wellbeing team in the Education Division. We are a team of three MHEW Advisors and five Parent and Carer Practitioners working in the Coastal and Wealden, Eastbourne and Hailsham, and Hastings, Rother and Rye areas.
- The Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Education Team
What do we do?
- Raise awareness of Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing issues in schools/colleges
- Share best practice and support schools and colleges to implement the recommendations of the government’s Green Paper
- Develop and deliver CPD programmes for schools and colleges to help them identify children and young people with mental health concerns and put in place appropriate, sustainable support.
- Provide workshops, coffee mornings and interventions for parents and carers to develop their understanding of children’s mental health and how they can support their child when needed.
- Support schools and colleges to develop and implement whole school approaches to MHEW.
What we offer
Senior Mental Health Lead Programme
Our highly rated training supports Senior Mental Health Leads to explores their role as SMHL and how they can develop and implement whole school approaches to mental health and well-being (MHEW) in their setting.
We offer follow up support after the training to help develop and sustain changes or plan initiatives you want to put in place in your setting.
Our support for Senior Mental Health Leads also includes:
- Monthly small group reflective supervision
- Mental health leads networking events
Training for school and college staff
Our funded training sessions that you can book via the learning portal:
- Whole school approaches to Pupil Anxiety
- Supporting whole school community with bereavement and loss
- Schools' and Colleges' Race and Equalities Network
- Suicide Prevention and Unexpected Death Toolkit
- Introduction to the role of Senior Mental Health Lead (grant available)
- Promoting staff wellbeing and motivation
- Mental health leads network meetings
- Post-16 network meetings
Whole school or college INSET day training
We can provide training in your setting during INSET days. The themes we currently have available are:
- Staff wellbeing and Motivation
- Introduction to Trauma-Informed Practice
- Understanding mental health and strategies for supporting children and young people
- A graduated response to mental health and wellbeing
- Whole school approaches to anxiety
- Behaviour as Communication
- Managing Sensitive Conversations with Parents and Carers
All sessions include time to explore relevant concepts and learn appropriate strategies and tools.
You can choose to have up to three of the sessions to be delivered in the same INSET day.
Due to the limited size of our team and only a few INSET days across the year, this offer is limited. Contact us to discuss by emailing mhew@eastsussex.gov.uk
Mental Health Link Governors Programme
These sessions outline the role of the MH Link Governor and explore practical ways to support your Senior Leadership Team in embedding a whole school approach to MHEW:
- Training for MHEW link governors
- Networking for MHEW Link governors
Support for developing and implementing a whole school approach to MHEW
Staff and governors who are aiming to address mental health and wellbeing at a whole school and college level can request a support visit from a MHEW Advisor. We recommend allocating two hours to meet with the advisor, which may include a learning walk.
We encourage schools and colleges to view the ESCC MHEW audit framework or East Sussex Healthy Schools Programme before the visit. The MHEW advisor will support you to complete this, and action plans, using a strengths-based approach.
Contact MHEW@eastsussex.gov.uk for more information.
Parents and Carers Practitioners
Would your parents and carers like to know how to help their child more with anxiety & worry? Or maybe they would like some support around helping their child with transitions or exam stress? The MHST parent and carer team are available to help parents support their child’s emotional wellbeing, we can offer drop ins, coffee mornings, online or face to face workshops and short courses on specific subjects.
We offer:
- Free workshops on mental health and wellbeing, or semi-structured coffee mornings and drop ins, for parents and carers. These take place in your setting, or at local family hubs, we also offer parents and carers access to online pre-recorded webinars and live online workshops.
- Bespoke support for settings to develop whole school approaches to engaging and working with parents and carers.
Me and My Mind Parent and Carer Practitioner Offer
Me and My Practitioners can support your school to develop ways of engaging parents and carers to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.
In addition, the practitioners can complement the schools plans by delivering mental health themed workshops or coffee mornings.
How does it work?
We begin by meeting with you to discuss our offer, your school, and the needs of your parents and carers. We’ll explore what has worked well previously and identify any gaps we can address. Afterward, we provide a short introductory blurb and an online survey for you to share with parents and carers. Using the feedback collected, we develop a bespoke offer tailored to their needs.
The MHST Parent Carer Team offers free support to all schools, parents, and carers. Our relaxed and informal approach aims to equip parents and carers with the skills to support their child through emotional challenges, fostering confidence to handle tricky situations early and maintain positive emotional wellbeing. We also signpost to specialist support or alternative services when needed.
Check out our recorded webinars on YouTube Me & My Mind - Mental Health Support Teams
Contact mhst.info@eastsussex.gov.uk for more information.
Me & My Mind
The Me & My Mind service, known nationally as the Mental Health Support Teams, work with schools and colleges to offer mental health interventions. The team provide in-school short-term support for children aged 7 to 17 with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
Currently, this service is only available for MHST host schools.
Download a list of Me & My Mind host schools [16.1 KB] [docx]
- Me and My Mind Team
Contact mhst.info@eastsussex.gov.uk for more information.
