The mental health support teams making a difference in Kent and Medway schools

Kent and Medway Mental Health Support Teams, known locally as the Emotional Wellbeing Teams in Kent and the Emotional Support Teams in Medway, are a government initiative to increase children and young people’s access to support for emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Working in schools, the teams promote the importance of emotional wellbeing, support staff to advance the learning of social and emotional skills, help reduce the stigma associated with mental health, and spot potential difficulties early on.

The positive impact the programme has, not only on children and young people, but also their families, the wider school culture and the local community in Kent and Medway is evident from the feedback received. Since its launch in 2020, an overwhelming majority of 91.7% have said that they would recommend the service to their friends and family.

NELFT practitioners are trained to help children at school with their emotional wellbeing and mental health and to offer support and guidance to schools, promoting joint working with other services.

They offer evidence-based, time-limited targeted support for difficulties such as low mood, worry and anxiety, low self-esteem and confidence, and support with understanding behaviour.

The team recently developed a short film to raise awareness of the vital work they do amongst parents in Kent and Medway. Children, young people, teachers, school leaders and mental health practitioners feature in the short film that you can watch here:

18-year-old Mimi, who received support from the team, and features in the film said:

“Talking with someone felt really relieving. It’s really essential because there are a lot of people who are not willing to reach out for help, who secretly maybe aren’t happy and maybe need the help.”

Dr Virginia Lumsden, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Lead for the programme at NELFT, said:

“We get to see every day the impact of the work we do. From children overcoming worries and young people developing confidence for revision and exams, to teachers feeling better equipped to talk to young people about mental health, and families knowing that we are working together with their child’s school to promote emotional wellbeing.

Find out more about mental health support available in schools Kent and Medway Mental Health Support Teams