Mental Health Teams in School - Headstart and Inside Out

The InsideOut team will work with, and in, schools, delivering the whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing and will support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues.

Voluntary and community sector providers have formed a partnership to create the InsideOut Mental Health Support Team. The partnership members include.

  • The Link
  • Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind
  • The Junction Foundation
  • A Time 4 you
  • ABC Counselling
  • Changing Futures North East

The partnership is fully supported and working in collaboration with NHS TEWV and will work directly into schools alongside existing provision, to support with mild to moderate mental health and wellbeing needs. This partnership approach will help embed a culture of openness around mental health, forge stronger links between education settings and the wider Mental Health offer in South Tees and ensure children and young people can access appropriate support and stay in education.

Headstart was introduced in Middlesbrough in 2013 as a Big Lottery funded project; additional funding was secured from Future in Mind, education and public health. The aim of Headstart is to:

  • Support young people aged 0-19 to cope in better in difficult circumstances and do well in school and in life.
  • Build resilience in young people to prevent the onset of common mental health problems.
  • Learn from different approaches and contribute to an evidence base for investment in prevention and early intervention.
  • Develop an early intervention and prevention model to provide support in school, at home, in the community and virtually.
  • Develop a co-production model with children and their families.

In April 2020 South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group allocated Future in Mind funding to introduce elements of HeadStart into Redcar and Cleveland schools and support the development and delivery of the resilience approach. This support provided by a dedicated team will be in two ways; by direct delivery and by developing local networks to enhance relationships and access to services and support. HeadStart is a responsive programme; working on individual school priorities and using methods that complement current school approaches.

Click the link to find out more information about:

Inside Out

Headstart