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Mental health support for parents

If you're concerned about your child's mental health, start by reaching out to their Pastoral Year Manager. For additional advice, you can contact the Young Minds Parents Helpline for free, confidential support.

Recognizing Signs of Mental Health Issues

Action for Children offers valuable resources to help you identify signs of mental health challenges in children, along with practical steps you can take to support them.

Who to Talk To?

Any professional who works with children and young people can provide assistance or direct you other staff or information which may be of more benefit, teachers are not mental health professional, but as staff we have learned experiences which we can utilise to support the young people in our care or have knowledge of appropriate external support agencies. Consider speaking with a teacher, school nurse, social worker, your GP or 101 for non-urgent medical issues/concerns.

If your child is exhibiting suicide ideation or tendencies, you should take them to the Crisis Team at your nearest hospital as soon as possible, you can access mental health support workers immediately via this route.

In an emergency, please contact the relevant emergency service via 999

NHS Resources

For more information about children and young people’s mental health services, visit the NHS website using this link. You can also check your local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) website using this link.

Most services have their own sites with details on access, referrals (including self-referral options), and contact information. Look for “CAMHS” (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services) in your area.

Eating Disorders

If you’re worried about a child or young person with an eating disorder, please find out if your local Children and Young People’s Community Eating Disorder Team accepts self-referrals, and reach out to them as soon as possible. Your GP can also provide support. For more information, visit Beat, which offers helpful advice for children, young people, and adults.

Supporting Children with Additional Needs

If you care for a child with additional needs, resources from Mencap, the Mental Health Foundation, and the National Autistic Society can provide excellent support and information for parents and carers of children with learning disabilities or autism.

Seek Urgent Support

If you believe that you or your child needs urgent help, please do not hesitate to reach out for support if you are unsure where to turn, we are always happy to advise. Further information regarding urgent support is available on the NHS website. In almost all cases, for urgent Mental Health support we would direct you to the Crisis team at your local hospital.

Remember, in an emergency always contact the emergency services on 999.

Support for Parents