Pupil Mental Health Resource

Support ‘nest’ opens remotely to continue to prioritise young people’s mental health during Covid-19 lockdown.

Southwark Council announced in January this year that it intended to open a young people’s mental health ‘hub’ at a location in Peckham. This was to be a drop-in centre for young people aged 13 and upwards in an environment that felt welcoming to them, when they felt they needed extra support for their mental health and wellbeing.

Since then, or course, huge changes have happened and social distancing has meant that what will now be called ‘The Nest’, has had to evolve into an online and phone-line support service for the time being, before the council is able to fully realise its ambition for a face-to-face support service. This is a landmark service which is one of the key components of the council’s commitment to support 100% of children and young people with a diagnosable mental health need.

Councillor Jasmine Ali, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Adult Social Care, said: “During this time of great stress and disruption, we must forge ahead with our efforts to support young people with mental health problems, which are hugely exacerbated by the current health crisis. While we can’t open a physical building as promised this week, we can keep up the momentum and ensure that young people have all the support they need. When the ‘lockdown’ restrictions are lifted and the doors are open, we fully intend to expand the service to support all children and young people under the age of 25. Good mental health is as important as good physical health and children need to get support with their emotional or mental wellbeing when they need it, on demand, without waiting for a referral.”

From this week, young people will be able to ring a dedicated number to speak to someone, have a video call, or use an online chat service to connect to experts in mental health. Other online resources will help young people to take the first steps to feeling better or getting further help if they need it.

The new service will be run in partnership with Groundwork London, which was awarded the contract following a competitive process in January. Groundwork London has over fifteen years experience in supporting disadvantaged children and young people in Southwark. Its members of staff have skills and specialisms in mental health to ensure they are equipped to meet the needs of those accessing the service.

Graham Parry, Director of Youth, Employment and Skills at Groundwork London, said: “All Southwark's young people deserve safe spaces in real life and on-line where they can talk about their mental health and well-being with people who can really help. Groundwork are excited to be launching The Nest on behalf of Southwark Council, a service that has been designed with young people to offer mental health support in the way they have told us they want it.”

Councillor Ali continued: “Before lockdown, young people were already suffering in terms of their mental wellbeing, with the pressures of exams, having to care for others, the pressure of social media. And now, when they are missing their friends and social freedom , or maybe feeling that all their hard work for their GCSEs will need catching up on, they will need this more than ever.

“It was never good enough to say we will only treat some of the children who need mental health services, we want to go further. Prevention and early intervention is key to prevent mental health deterioration. Every child who needs support should receive it, and that’s what we aim to do, working closely, with our health, education and voluntary sector colleagues.”

Opening hours are Monday - Friday, 1pm - 6pm.

Visit: https://www.thenestsouthwark.org.uk/ which includes a dedicated section on COVID-19 to support young people’s mental health during the lockdown. Young people can complete the online contact form to be contacted by either phone, email or text. They can also email the service directly at thenest@groundwork.org.uk or phone 020 8138 1805.

Background

Southwark Council is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people (CYP) through our Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Services.

In November 2018, a Southwark Joint Review of Emotional Wellbeing and Children’s and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was undertaken. Findings within this review highlighted a gap in provision for children and young people (aged 0-25) who do not need specialist mental health provision but who do need more than can be provided by schools and/or GPs.

Southwark’s Health and Wellbeing Board’s local ambition is that, by 2020, 100% of children and young people can access help, advice and support for improved emotional wellbeing, particularly in relation to self-management, peer or parental/family support and access to a comprehensive digital offer.

What will the service deliver?

The open access provision will focus on being a safe, welcoming and friendly atmosphere where support can be provided to children, young people and their families to improve their mental wellbeing. The support may come in a number of forms including 1:1 sessions, group work, virtual resources and peer mentoring.

The service will employ mental health specialists to ensure that the service is informed by the psychological evidence base, and is equipped to determine when more specialist therapeutic intervention needs to be provided or ensuring appropriate referral routes are followed.

The service will, for it’s first year, be accessible to older children aged 13 and over however as the service develops it will expand to support children and young people aged 0-25 and their parents.

Test and learn is at the heart of service to ensure that the support it provides can be flexible to meet the needs of the borough. Groundwork London will continue to engage with children, young people, their family, carers/guardians, operational colleagues, stakeholders to ensure that the service reflects, and is responsive to, the needs of Southwark.

Flexibility may include areas such as the topics of group sessions, the style of 1:1 conversations, emerging issues/challenges that young people face and differing tools to enable them to develop their physical, emotional and social capabilities.