Supporting Mental Health
Westlands School recognises the ever-increasing demands for support with mental health, especially for young people. We are committed to ensuring pupils who need support with their mental wellbeing should have access to support networks, whether it be by directly asking a member of staff or seeking out appropriate support privately. We have put together a support package containing various links to support services which are trusted, recommended providers.
Supporting you to support your child
We know that being a parent or carer isn’t always easy. Although it’s often amazing and rewarding to watch your child grow up, it can also be really hard work. Things might feel especially difficult if your child is struggling with their mental health at the moment. Or if their mood and behaviour seem different, and you're not sure why or what you can do to help.
YoungMinds provide lots of practical advice and help so you can support them.
Recommended support services
Good mental health
‘Good mental health is all about helping you to make small changes to improve your mental health and give you the tools you need to cope when things get tough.’
Kooth
Kooth offers emotional and mental health support to 11-19 year olds (or 25 with SEND). Young people choose an avatar and can have 'drop in' chats with a counsellor or therapist, book a 1:1 session, or talk to other young people anonymously.
Headstart Kent
This is a resource by Kent Resilience Hub that helps young people, parents/carers and professionals to understand emotional growth and resilience.
The Be You Project
The Be You Project offers support for LGBTQ+ young people. The service is sponsored by the NHS and Porchlight.
Smiling Mind
Meditation made easy. ‘Smiling Mind is a unique app-based program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to people’s lives.’
Mind, Mental Health charity
Mind provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.
Samaritans
Samaritans is a charity dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation and disconnection that can lead to suicide. You can call Samaritans free on 116 123 from any phone, 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. You can also email jo@samaritans.org. Someone will reply within 24hrs.
Crisis text line: TEXT 85258
SHOUT is the UK’s first 24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere. It’s a place to go if you’re struggling to cope and you need immediate help.
STEM4
This supports young people’s mental health with information about anxiety, low mood, self-harm, eating problems, addiction, resilience and wellbeing, and some great downloadable apps.
Childline
Offers information and advice on mental health support for young people. Children can access a 1-1 counsellor online, speak to Childline over the phone or email them for support.
BEAT
Charity to support young people and their families with eating disorders - helplines, chat rooms and resources to support.
Frank
Frank offers information and support about drugs and alcohol 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Children can text a question to 82111 and Frank will text them back.
You can also seek advice from the following organisations:
NHS: School Health (Kent)
CXK
Apps downloadable through Google Play/Apple store:
Calm Harm
This is an award-winning app developed for teenage mental health. It uses the basic principles of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), which is an evidence-based therapy. The app provides tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm.
Ellie's Angels
Ellie's Angels are an external registered charity who work with the NHS to introduce mental health awareness and support into day-to-day student life.
"Better u" is an app we recommend for all our pupils who are struggling with their mental health. This is an app that provides a platform where pupils can support their mental health and well-being through journaling, daily affirmations and mindfulness features. It's also a place where pupils can find links to a diverse range of professional organisations and charities that offer support on a variety of platforms.