More mental health support in schools
8 August 2024
More children and young people in Sussex will get mental health and emotional wellbeing support at school as the successful Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools expands.
A partnership between the NHS and local authority teams, MHSTs assist pupils with mild to moderate mental health issues such as sleep difficulties, poor eating patterns or diet affected by and/or affecting mood, low mood, depression and low self-esteem or anxiety difficulties.
The teams not only provide direct support to pupils but also advise staff and liaise with external specialist services to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.
MHSTs in Sussex are the most active in the Southeast, supporting the largest number of families and schools with mental health and emotional wellbeing, in and outside of the classroom.
There are currently 17 MHSTs in Sussex, supporting a total of 257 schools and reaching 233,657 children and young people.
Work to expand the teams further across Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex to reach even more schools from September 2024, will bring the total coverage to 65 per cent of Sussex schools.
One-to-one or in small groups, the teams also host workshops with parents and carers, and promote a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing in and outside of the classroom with teaching staff which contributes to protecting and promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing for the future.
This work is a key part of NHS Sussex's Foundations for Our Future Children and Young People Mental Health Strategy 2022 – 2027.