Training partnership with Gloucester House Outreach Service

We are delighted to announce a workshop series in partnership with Gloucester House Outreach Service. Aimed at professionals who work directly with children, both within school settings and beyond, the courses will offer an accessible introduction to a range of timely topics including emotionally-based school avoidance, self-harm and attachment difficulties.

Gloucester House Outreach Service provides multi-disciplinary expertise and support for children with social, emotional and mental health needs so that they can remain in mainstream schools, or transition to alternative provisions.

Historically, we’ve been commissioned to provide direct interventions for young people outside of school placements for a variety of reasons. Responding and providing appropriate support for these referrals has value, however, preventative work with staff is the ideal approach – to minimise young people being excluded or lost within the system, and to reduce the risk of them not receiving the early support that can be provided at a school level if staff are appropriately trained.

Our experience has shown that most of our referrals tend to occur much further down the line – often when the school is struggling to support the pupil and reengage them in education. Therefore, the aim of our courses is to shift the focus onto training and capacity building, working with the teams around the child rather than with the child directly. This preventative and more cohesive approach will ultimately help build staff confidence, knowledge, and skills to address a range of social, emotional, and mental health needs in a more sustainable way.

The 2020 Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Survey found that one in six (16%) of children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a probable mental disorder, increasing from one in nine (10.8%) in 2017. *

Providing more skills and training to the frontline staff that work with children and young people is fundamental to developing capacity for support within the system. Our workshops focus on areas that staff are telling us they need more guidance on and which will contribute to making the learning environment a safer, more positive place for pupils to achieve their potential. We’re looking forward to welcoming professionals from across the sector and providing them with practical strategies and resources that they can implement in their setting.

* Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2020: Wave 1 follow up to the 2017 survey – NDRS (digital.nhs.uk)