Education Wellbeing Practitioner – Help in school for your child.

The team provides early intervention for children and young people aged 5 to 18 who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges, such as anxiety or low mood by working closely with students, parents, carers, and school staff to create a supportive environment that fosters positive mental health. No difficulty is too small - offering support early can be highly beneficial in preventing it from becoming a bigger problem.

Here are some early signs that your child might be struggling and may need extra support.

• Have you noticed your child avoiding things because they are worried?
• Do they seek a lot of reassurance?
• Do they have a lot of ‘what if..?’ worries?
• Do they often complain about stomach aches.

If your child is finding things difficult—whether adjusting to a new school or managing ongoing pressures—EWP’s are here to support them.

Help

An EWP is based in Kingston schools one day a week, with flexibility for online work, offering 1-1 brief guided self-help interventions for children with mild to moderate anxiety or behaviour difficulties. The team also deliver group-work and workshops with groups or classes of children and provide resources and workshops for parents, carers, and school staff. Look out for our “Helping Children With…” and “Helping Teens With…” webinar series, as well as coffee mornings in schools on various topics and get involved whether your child is struggling or you want to pick up some tips on how to help already or you want to learn how best to help before there is a problem.

Creative therapists are also part of the team and rotate between schools on a termly basis. Creative Therapies may support a young person when an EWP intervention may not be suitable. It may be that the young person responds to a creative approach, rather than a structured/ manualised EWP intervention.

So how to access this fantastic help?

• Speak with your child’s teacher about your concerns, ask about the possibility of a referral to the MHST.
• Don’t be put off, we know how busy teachers are so follow up and/or take your request to the special educational needs co-ordinator or the pastoral team.

Many of our Military Children face a lot of upheaval and challenges in their lives. For most this will come with some portion of anxiety and stress so we encourage you to reach out and ask for help. You know your child and you are your child’s advocate. Their mental health and resilience is crucial for how you as a family cope with the ongoing challenges of military life so speak to your child’s teachers today about how the MHST can help your child.

KeepAbility is currently in contact with Olivia the EWP for Kingston. We are discussing the possibility of a meeting onsite for any parents that may like to know more about what an Education Wellbeing Practitioner does and how this support can be accessed. Please reach out to miriam@sctrainingandconsultancy.com if this interests you.

‍