Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Professionals Mental Health Support

Training

Training for Schools

It is estimated that one in eight 5 to 19 year olds have suffered from at least one diagnosable mental disorder, therefore it is likely that many more will struggle with their mental health and emotional wellbeing at some point during their school years.

We all have our role to play in supporting children and young people, and schools pay an important part in supporting young people that may be struggling with their mental health. It is vital that everyone working within a school has an understanding of what mental health is and has the confidence to recognise and respond to common issues.

What is the mental health competency framework?

Local Authority Public Health, YMCA Trinity Group, educational establishments and local NHS services have developed a competency based model of assessment to guide schools and colleges in identifying their training needs. The framework was created to simplify the complex picture of mental health training available. The aim is to ensure staff at all levels have the confidence to support children and young people by building core resilience skills, identifying emerging concerns at an early stage, and signposting to appropriate care pathways or interventions where possible. There is no expectation that education staff will diagnose or treat mental health problems.

Click here to download the mental health competency framework.

How do I use the framework?

The framework has been designed as a self-assessment tool. One approach might be to review the tool within a staff meeting or with a smaller group including senior leads (such as the mental health lead). The tool can be used to understand where current levels of understanding of mental health are within different staffing groups, and to highlight areas for improvement.

A digital version of the Mental Health Competency Framework is available which can be saved onto each school’s Microsoft Forms account enabling easy circulation to staff and the responses to be automatically collated. This will help all schools to analyse needs and plan training programmes accordingly. We also encourage schools to share their results to enable local trends to be identified and gaps to be addressed. To gain access to the link to the digital survey as well as set of instructions on the next steps to take, please email:

healthyschools@healthyyou.org.uk or joannehowling@healthyyou.org.uk

What next?

Click here to download the Quality Assurance checklist for Schools. 

There are lots of local and national providers that can provide training, some of which is free to access. If you decide to purchase training, the quality assurance checklist above can help to ensure that you receive a quality service that fits your needs. 


Local provision for schools and other professionals: 


Kooth.com and Qwell.io are commissioned to provide an online wellbeing platform which along with text based counselling also includes helpful articles, forums, activity centre, daily journal and messaging. We provide British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy accredited services and Kooth is available to young people aged 11-18 and Qwell is available from 18+ in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. 

The service provides a free and non-judgemental place for people to connect with others and they have instant access to self-help materials and moderated discussion forums. People can also contribute written pieces of work reflecting their own experiences, as well as accessing drop-in or booked sessions with professional counsellors, available 365 days a year, 12pm -10pm on weekdays and 6pm-10pm on weekends. Further information about Qwell can be found here and information about Kooth can be found here.  More information is available by watching these videos: Qwell  Kooth

Newsletter HERE

As a professional you have access to monthly webinars which are available to book via this link:  webinars. Also please contact me at ncross@kooth.com if you would like to receive my regular monthly newsletter, resources or are interested in booking a staff/parent information session or children and young people assemblies/workshops in schools.  

 


Training with CPSL Mind

Our team of experienced trainers work flexibly and supportively with individuals, organisations and businesses to increase mental health knowledge and skills.

All of our income goes towards funding the work of our charity including direct services for people recovering from mental health problems in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire.

From Mental Health First Aid to suicide prevention to working with young people, we have a range of courses to increase awareness and skills in our local community - please click here to view courses. 

We’ll support you to equip your employees with the skills and understanding to create a healthy working environment which benefits your organisation and local community. Please click here to view courses for organisations and companies. 


YMCA Trinity Group provide a variety of training courses and workshops to improve the physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing of children, young people and staff. Their courses are broken down into Core, Enhanced and Targeted training depending on your needs and requirements. 

Please note: Due to the success and accessibility of their virtual training programme during the pandemic, all short workshops will be offered virtually using Zoom for 2021/2022.

Should you wish to arrange these in-house, they would be happy to arrange face to face training delivery. Please get in touch to discuss how this might work. Full day or longer courses will be delivered face to face wherever possible so that delegates can best achieve the desired outcomes from the session. 

All courses are subject to change at short notice.  For more information contact 01733 373187 or mentalhealthtraining@ymcatrinity.org.uk (will support achieving competencies in framework assessment stages 1, 2 and 3).

Please see here for their 2021/22 Academic Year Training Calendar or here for our full course brochure

Designated Senior Mental Health Lead Training - Senior Mental Health Leads in schools and colleges can now apply for grant funding to access Department for Education (DfE) approved training. The DfE is offering a £1,200 grant for a senior member of school or college staff to access quality assured training to implement an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing in your setting. To find out more about accessing this grant visit the Senior Mental Health Lead Guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/senior-mental-health-lead-training.   Please note that a localised programme is being put together this year that we hope will be approved for the 22/23 academic year..  This will be based on local need and will be developed in collaboration with local service providers such as the local authority, NHS and YMCA Trinity Group.  To register your interest in this, please email ryan.armes@ymcatrinity.org.uk.


SEND Educational Psychology Services - SEND Services provide targeted support and training to staff supporting students with all aspects of special educational needs, but particularly those experiencing social and emotional difficulties.


Learn Together LogoLearning Together Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has Guidance and Training for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Schools and Settings. Click the logo or link for more information. 


provides sexual health and HIV support, education and information for schools and professionals and young people from age 11 across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough click here to find out more. 


National provisions for training

e-learning for healthcare logo

MindEd (Free) - Online training for families and those working with children and young people. There are e-learning opportunities across a range of mental health topics.

Young Minds offer training on a range of subjects from anxiety to social media.

HomeThe Anti-Bullying Alliance (free) - CPD training for teachers and school staff, it also has a range of resources on tackling the subject of bullying.

Zero Suicide Alliance (free) - Powerful training developed by Merseyside NHS around having conversations about suicide and preventing it if you come across a situation.


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