Supporting schools to improve pupils' mental health

We are pleased to announce that St Andrew’s College, part of our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, are hosting a conference next week to help support mental health in schools.

As a charity, St Andrew’s Healthcare aims to support our communities with support and specialist guidance.  The ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: A Green Paper’, published in December 2017, set out the government’s proposals for creating a strong network of support in schools. As part of these proposals, the government has pledged to support all schools to identify and train a Designated Mental Health Lead.

Julie Sadler, Head Teacher at St Andrew’s College, explained: “The role of the Designated Mental Health Lead is an incredibly important one, emphasizing the focus on mental health in schools, and the positive, proactive impact we can all have in children’s lives. It is a very exciting and timely project given the Green Paper discussions around mental health. I feel we have an obligation as a mental healthcare charity to equip and support schools in the community with knowledge and practical advice that they can use to support their pupils.”

The conference will look at how the role of Designated Mental Health Lead can be developed, as we as focusing on how we build resilience and coping strategies for pupils. There is a choice of workshops on Gender Dysphoria, Eating Disorders and Self Harm, and Attachment, and a plethora of speakers, all of whom are specialists in their field.

To find out more about our Mental Health In Schools conference, click here. The event programme is online here.
 

Do you know about St Andrew’s College?

St Andrew's College has been designed specifically for the needs of the young people in our care. Located in the heart of FitzRoy House, the College enables young people from our mental illness and developmental disability services to continue their education whilst receiving specialist mental health treatment. 

Last year over 135 young people studied at St Andrew's College. Over 450 qualifications, including GCSEs and AQA Unit Awards, were taken with 45% of students achieving a pass grade. There is also a specialist TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic Children with Communication Handicaps) programme and environment for young people with our Neurodevelopmental/developmental pathways.

With extra-curriculum activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, St Andrew's College is able to offer something for everyone.

One of the benefits of having an on-site Ofsted college and specialist teaching team, means that as well as having a variety of nationally accredited qualifications, young people also have the opportunity to study a broader range of subjects. These include business studies, sport studies, work-related learning and the Duke of Edinburgh award.

Ofsted have twice judged St Andrew's College as 'Outstanding' in 2013 and 2016