Well-being and Mental Health Services in your school:
See the below resources and support available to you at this time. For more information and resources, including well-being and mental health apps please see the Well-being and Mental Health section of our website.
WAMHS Letter from Ms Cooke: Mental Health and Covid-19 information for Parents/Carers and Students
Child and parent/carer anxiety around the return to school
Please click here for a youtube video from our Educational Mental Health Practitioner, Temi. Temi’s role at Haggerston school is to improve the well-being of all students, who may be experiencing forms of anxiety or low mood. This may take place in the form of a one-off workshop targeting a specific difficulty or it may be engaging in a 6-8 week intervention with the child. She also works with parents to run parent groups.
If you are interested in speaking with Temi about any concerns you have please feel free to contact your child’s Head of Year.
Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and students
Anna Freud Centre has put together a free Supporting Schools and Colleges booklet which provides advice and guidance for school staff about how to help children and young people manage their mental health and wellbeing during times of disruption to their learning.
The CAMHS Alliance in City & Hackney have also developed a resource for children and young people on how to access mental health and wellbeing support in this times: CAMHS COVID Getting Help.
Contact: Charlotte Lucas, CAMHS Alliance Project Support Officer, 07454844458
Support for young people and bereaved families
We are now living in very uncertain times and the Educational Psychology Service wanted to take the opportunity to remind you of the guidance sent just before schools closed on the 20 March regarding talking to children and young people about the virus. This includes a social story about the virus and includes downloadable information for children about coronavirus in different languages.
We are also aware that some families may have experienced a bereavement, perhaps due to the virus or perhaps not, or will do in the future. The virus has meant that even at these times, we are having to change our usual behaviours, and managing limited attendance at funerals amongst other things.
Please see the below guidance that has been previously circulated regarding managing critical and traumatic incidents to remind you of the resources and sources of help that are available to you.
- Dr Joanne’s 10 top tips for parents and carers for supporting their children in conversations about coronavirus.
- What is coronavirus?
- HLT critical incidents framework.
- Looking after your feelings and your body.
If you would like further support, please contact your link EP in the first instance.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers (NSPCC)
The NSPCC has created a number of resources to support parents and carers during this difficult time. Topics include:
∙ Talking to a child worried about coronavirus
∙ Parents working from home
∙ Children staying home alone
∙ Lockdown and separated parents
∙ How to cope with tantrums and other difficult behaviour
The advice can be found on the NSPCC website here.
What children are saying to Childline about coronavirus (NPSCC)
Gaining an insight into the worries that children have shared with Childline during this pandemic can help adults think about what support needs to be put in place for young people at this time.
A summary of young people’s key concerns can be found here.
See the below resources and support available to you at this time. For more information and resources, including health and well-being apps please see the Well-being and Mental Health section of our website.