Improving school access to emotional wellbeing and mental health support

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB) has recently launched a School In-Reach service for emotional wellbeing and mental health. School In-Reach has been set up to improve early intervention and access to support for education professionals and young people. 

The main goals of the School In-Reach service are to: 

• Enhance the skills and confidence of school staff

• Provide timely access to specialist advice, liaison and consultation for education professionals

• Improve the emotional health and wellbeing of staff and young people in schools

In Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, capacity will also be created for practitioners to directly support young people and families through group and one-to-one interventions.  

There are locality teams in Cardiff East, Cardiff West and Vale of Glamorgan, as well as a specialist team that provides support to young people outside of mainstream education. Each team will support education providers to embed their Whole School Approach through provision of:  

• Consultation

• Training

• Mental Wellbeing Groups

• One-to-one Mental Health interventions

Amy Brown, Team Lead for the School In-Reach Service in Cardiff and Vale UHB, said: “I would like to say thank you to educators for the care and nurture they continue to show to children and young people, and their families. We are really excited to continue getting out and working with schools and education settings across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. We encourage educators to make the most of the support we can offer and get in touch with us if they have any queries.” 

Schools can access the In-Reach Service via their designated locality lead, more information about the service can be found on the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health website.