A NEW service is being offered across the town to support the emotional and mental health of young people.

Talking therapies, wellbeing workshops, and pastoral support are just some variations of support offered by the new service which is supported by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.

The Schools Link Mental Health Team is hosted by Culcheth High School and it aims to help children build resilience by giving them the skills to take care of their mental wellbeing.

And the team sits alongside and complements the existing mental health support that schools have access to, including the Mental Health Support Team and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

So far, the service has already helped a number of pupils across both high schools and primary schools in the town.

The team recently supported a year 11 pupil to deal with her anxiety following a family illness and managing after Covid.

The 15-year-old said: “It’s been a few weeks now since my final session and I’ve continued to practice my strategies and use the plan we created. I know that managing my anxiety isn’t going to be easy but now I’ve got the skills to help.”

You can listen to Clare’s story here: https://youtu.be/E3c3mSNkwOs

Meanwhile a year 8 pupil called Ben was supported by the team in relation to his low mood and motivation.

You can listen to his story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czvNMb7FcNQ

Chris Hunt, head teacher at Culcheth High School, said: “The support from the professionals from Mersey Care’s Mental Health Support Teams that is being provided to our school mental health leads is vital to support children and young people in spotting the early signs and prevention of mental health problems.”

Jane Rooney, head teacher at Statham Primary, added: “The team is helping our children to build resilience and giving us the skills to help them take care of their mental wellbeing.”

Funded by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside as part of Warrington Together’s Starting Well plan, the programme has been supported through a partnership between the NHS, Warrington Borough Council, and Warrington’s schools, with partners looking to grow and develop the Schools Link Mental Health Team over the coming years.

The programme builds on existing plans to improve access to mental health support and responds to a recent Healthwatch Warrington report on children’s mental health services across the borough.

Carl Marsh, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s place director for Warrington, said: “We know how important it is that young people have access to mental health support as early as possible and we’re committed to working with partners across the system to do more to improve the support offer available.

“As one team underneath the Warrington Together umbrella, NHS organisations, Warrington Borough Council, GP practices, and voluntary organisations are working together to join up services, support the health and care of our community, share ideas and resources, and improve how we access health and care in Warrington.”

Warrington Borough Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Sarah Hall, added: “This approach builds on the long-standing Future in Mind project in Warrington and supports the needs identified in the recent Healthwatch report to improve access to mental health support for both young people and professionals working in education.

“It’s great to see schools already benefiting from having the team available to support them, and we look forward to the service being rolled out across more schools in Warrington in the near future.”

To find out more information or to make a referral, contact Linsay Chesworth at LCH@culchethhigh.org.uk