A PILOT service that currently supports the wellbeing of young people aged 5 to 19 in eight Island schools, will expand to all schools from next year.

The Isle of Wight NHS Trust, Barnardo’s and the Isle of Wight Youth Trust have been working in partnership to deliver the new UK Government initiative in England, Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) in schools and colleges across the Island.

The service was launched locally in January 2021 and in its initial development phase, it is working with four primary host schools and four secondary host schools.

They are Oakfield Primary, Barton Primary, Nine Acres Primary, Medina House School, Cowes Enterprise College, The Isle of Wight College, The Bay CE School and The Island Learning Centre.

The practitioners offer early support with evidence-based interventions, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to treat mild to moderate mental health conditions, such as low mood, stress, anxiety and challenging behaviour.

From January 2022, this service will become fully accessible to all schools across the Island.

Children and young people will be able to access support from Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) to supplement the existing support already in place for children and young people aged 4 to 18 years old.

In addition to working with individual children and young people, their families and carers, the MHST service will also work with school and college staff, offering training and consultation to support and develop a collaborative ‘whole school’ approach to mental health and wellbeing.

For children and young people in participating schools and colleges, they can access this service by referral from their school’s Mental Health lead.

Helen Figgins, service manager for children’s mental health at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, said: "We are delighted that children and young people will benefit from this initiative to provide additional mental health and wellbeing support in our Island schools and colleges.

“We are collaborating with existing service providers as part of an integrated approach to ensure the MHST service is responsive, fits local needs and is based on an understanding of the needs of the children and young people.

“This should lead to a more positive experience for children and young people, their families and carers with improved knowledge and confidence in dealing with mental health issues.”

Roland White, assistant principal of the Isle of Wight College, said: "The college is delighted to have been selected to host an EMHP. This new role will be invaluable in supporting young peoples’ mental health on the Island.

"Our EMHP, Ella Craig and Callum Shairp, are already establishing themselves as valuable members of the college community and we look forward to working with them to support college students."

Anyone seeking further information can email iownt.mhst@nhs.net