Mental Health Support

At The Altus School we strive to support the mental health of our students and recognise that their emotional wellbeing is just as important as their physical health.  Good mental health allows children and young people to develop resilience that is needed to cope with the challenges of life and reduce the chances of suffering with anxiety and stress.

We will support your child to develop good mental health by providing:

- A regular weekly check-in with a designated keyworker to joint problem solve any concerns

- Weekly Skylark outward bounds activities designed to develop resilience and team building skills

- Referrals to CAMHS*, designated school nurse and other agencies if required

- Thrive sessions

- A staff team who are trained in ‘Emotion Coaching’

- Bespoke 1:1 and small group interventions to promote the awareness and development of good mental

   health

- PSHE lessons

- Support to complete a mental health questionnaire as part of our pupil induction programme

- Signposting of relevant websites

*Our Pastoral team works closely with specialist CAMHS mental health nurses to seek advice and guidance for your child whilst waiting for referrals to be assessed.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of young people. In a recent survey carried out by Young Minds, 67% of respondents agreed they are concerned about the long-term impact of the coronavirus on their child’s mental health. This rose to 77% among parents and carers whose children have required mental health support in the last three months.

In a survey with young people at the start of the pandemic, 83% said that the crisis had made their mental health worse. In a follow up survey in June, 41% said it had made their mental health “much worse”, up from 32% in the previous survey in March.

31% of young people who were accessing mental health support before the crisis are no longer receiving it.

87% of young people agreed that they had felt lonely or isolated during the lockdown period, even though 71% had been able to stay in touch with friends www.youngminds.org.uk.