How we support SEMH in schools
Our Early Help and Schools Inclusion Team and our Educational Psychology Service work with schools in the borough to support children and young people with additional needs and their families.
Please speak to your child's school if you're interested in these SEMH services.
Find contact details for your child's school to discuss SEMH support
Early Help and Schools Inclusion Team services
We work with schools to improve their capacity to manage the social, emotional and behavioural needs of all pupils.
We do this by:
- Supporting schools to put into practice national and local initiatives for pupil attendance, behaviour and mental wellbeing.
- Offering advice and support for teachers to help them meet the needs of a child with unusual or particularly challenging behaviours.
- Linking with other strategies such as anti-bullying, transition, prevention of exclusions and antisocial behaviour.
Educational Psychology Service work
We support schools, families and children by applying psychology to improve outcomes for pupils and schools at the individual and big picture level.
We do this by:
- Offering a consultation service for schools - staff and parents or carers explore the child's issues together and develop a plan of action. This may involve setting up initial strategies and targets, planning interventions and gathering together information about the child's needs.
- Making assessments of a child or young person's needs. We're also involved in the Educational, Health and Care (EHC) assessment process.
- Offering group work at schools, usually 6-8 sessions. Types of group work include:
- Supporting staff to help make all children feel valued and important through approaches such as 'circle of friends' and Lego therapy.
- Using psychological techniques with small groups of pupils, alongside staff, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), solution-focused brief therapy, working with selective mutism and mindfulness to support anxious pupils.
- Training all school staff on topics such as autistic spectrum condition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attachment, behaviour management, dyslexia and dyscalculia, exam stress and supporting children and young people through bereavement and loss. Training courses can be individualised to meet the schools' needs.