Targeted support and appropriate referrals
Targeted support and appropriate referrals
Once a need has been identified, staff should act quickly to ensure that children and young people receive the appropriate targeted support or referral pathway. Schools and colleges should have their referral pathway set out in a clear process which all staff should be aware of.
Developing a graduated approach to your school’s mental health and emotional wellbeing (MHEW) provision is central to ensuring all MHEW needs are met and appropriate help and support are provided. This can be set out using a template, such as the ‘pyramid of graduated support’ and include both in-house and external provision available. Knowing about local services and ensuring that referrals are timely and appropriate, and followed up, are key to successful intervention and support.
A clear referral process (see previous section ‘Identifying need and monitoring impact’) will ensure that children and young people receive the appropriate level of support.
Universal support
This is support delivered at whole school/college level. It includes quality first teaching, reasonable adjustments, interventions and support for all children and young people. When MHEW is embedded throughout the curriculum and within the school and college ethos, MHEW ‘coverage’ will be happening daily and throughout positive interactions.
Targeted support
Stage 1: Support and interventions delivered by staff using in-house resources, for example:
- one-to-one support from an individual needs assistant or teaching assistant
- small group work led by a staff member on issues such as bereavement, anxiety, or social skills
Stage 2: As above, with advice or in-person support from an external professional.
Specialist support
This is for children and young people who:
- have more complex and enduring MHEW needs
- need help from a trained expert, in addition to ongoing support from your school or college
Mapping out a graduated support system
Use this document to identify the different levels of support, staff, professionals and services involved in your individual setting.
MHEW Support pyramid template and example [324.2 KB] [docx]
Key recommendations
- Produce clear, written guidance for staff about the referral process.
- Identify key staff by roles and the interventions they provide.
- Agree which assessment tools to use.
- Map out MHEW support, referral system & criteria.
- Publicise additional MHEW resources / support.
Targeted support resources - local
- CYP MH services listed on ES 1Space
- Single Point of Advice
- E-wellbeing – resources for schools
- i-rock – support for 14-25s
- School Health Service - confidential text messaging service for parents/carers of cyp aged 5-19 and yp aged 11-19: 07507 332 473
- 0300 123 4062 – School Health One Point (SHOP)
- Online referral form (includes Ready Steady Go referral)
- Sussex MH Line - 0800 0309 500 - support and information
- E-motion – online counselling for 12-18s
- Discovery College – creative courses for 12-20s
Toolkits:
Unexpected Death and Critical Incidents
Targeted support resources – national
- Childline - 0800 1111
- The Mix - 0808 808 4994
- Student Minds - text ‘STUDENT’ to 85258 , call free on 0808 189 5260 4-11pm
- Youth Employment UK
- Papyrus – suicide prevention support, including Hopeline - Call: 0800 068 41 41/ Text: 07786 209 697
- Saneline – can request a call back. Support for those affected by mental illness
- Samaritans – 116123 – 24/7
- Mind – information and support
- Home - East Sussex 1Space - directory of local services