Working with schools
The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) works directly with schools in the BANES area.
Which schools do we work with?
Wiltshire secondary schools
- Devizes School
- Matravers School (Westbury)
- Sarum Academy (Salisbury)
- The Clarendon Academy (Trowbridge)
- The John of Gaunt School (Trowbridge)
- Wiltshire College (Trowbridge)
- Bradon Forest School
- Royal Wootton Bassett Academy (RBW)
- Sheldon School (Chippenham)
- St Augustine’s Catholic School (Trowbridge)
- St Joseph’s Catholic School (Salisbury)
- Wiltshire College (Salisbury)
- Wyvern St Edmund’s Girls’ School (Salisbury)
- Salisbury 6th Form
Wiltshire primary schools
Chippenham
- Frogwell Primary (Chippenham)
- Queen’s Crescent Primary (Chippenham)
- St Paul’s Primary School
- St Peter’s Primary School
Devizes
- Five Lanes
- Nursteed Community School
- Southbroom Infants School (Devizes)
- Southbroom St James (Devizes)
- St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School (Devizes)
- Trinity Primary School (Devizes)
- Wansdyke School (Devizes)
Trowbridge
- Bellefield Primary & Nursey School (Trowbridge)
- Grove Primary School (Trowbridge)
- Holbrook Primary School (Trowbridge)
- Larkrise School (Trowbridge)
- Longleaze Primary
- Newtown Community Primary School (Trowbridge)
- Oasis Academy Longmeadow (Trowbridge)
- Paxcroft Primary School (Trowbridge)
- St John’s Catholic Primary School (Trowbridge)
- St Paul’s Primary
- St Peter’s Cof E Primary Academy (Chippenham)
- Studley Green Primary School (Trowbridge)
Sailsbury
- Exeter House Special School (Salisbury)
- Harnham CofE Controlled Jnr School (Salisbury)
- Harnham Infants School (Salisbury)
- Manor Fields Primary School (Salisbury)
- Pembroke Park Primary School (Salisbury)
- Salisbury 6th Form College
- Sarum St Pauls Primary School (Salisbury)
- St Mark’s C of E Jnr School (Salisbury)
- St Martin’s C of E Primary School (Salisbury)
- St Osmund’s Catholic Primary School (Salisbury)
- St Peter’s Cof E Primary Academy (Salisbury)
- Woodlands Primary School (Salisbury)
- Wyndham Park Infants School (School) (Salisbury)
Westbury
- Bitham Primary School (Westbury)
- Westbury C of E Junior School
- Westbury Infant School
- Westbury Leigh C of E Primary School
Wootton Bassett
- St Bartholomew’s Primary Academy (Wootton Bassett)
Special education provision
- Exeter House Special School (Salisbury)
- Larkrise (Trowbridge)
Early intervention and prevention
MHSTs are a response to the government’s green paper to improve access and quality of mental health support for children and young people in education settings. Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) sit within the MHST along with other mental health professionals and clinical supervisors. The purpose of the MHST is for early intervention and prevention of common mental health problems.
Self-help interventions
EMHPs deliver evidence-based, low-intensity, guided self-help interventions with children and young people and their parents/carers, either remotely or in a school setting.
These interventions are to support children, young people, and their families to overcome common mental health problems such as anxiety, low mood, and behavioural difficulties.
Interventions include:
- Behavioural activation
- Exposure habituation
- Cognitive restructuring
- Behavioural experiments
- Worry management
- Coping Cat
- Pesky gNATS
- Parent training and parent-led CBT
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of talking therapy which looks at how what we think and what we do affects how we feel. It involves finding out what is keeping us ‘stuck’ and helps us change how we feel by trying different ways of thinking about things or different ways of doing things. The below video explains more about how CBT works.
As well as 1:1 work, the MHST works closely with schools and their Designated Mental Health Lead (DMHL) to develop a whole school approach towards mental health. A whole school approach involves everyone being committed and working together to improve mental health and wellbeing. This includes senior leadership, all school staff, parents and carers, and members of the wider community.
Consultations
School staff can request consultations with an EMHP. This is a solution-focused meeting to discuss a mental health problem or concern for a group of children or an individual child.
MHSTs can deliver psychoeducation to classes or groups of children where there is an identified need. Examples include managing exam stress, emotional literacy, self-esteem, transitions, and raising mental health awareness.
MHSTs can also deliver continuing professional development to school staff.
Page last reviewed: 2 February, 2023