Michael Syddall Church of England (Aided) Primary School receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to Michael Syddall Church of England (Aided) Primary School in Richmond, North Yorkshire who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Pictured receiving the award are the school Wellbeing Champions.

Sherborne House School receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to Sherborne House School in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

“The AcSEED assessment team were particularly impressed by the strong wellbeing ethos at Sherborne House School, by their comprehensive range of mental health and wellbeing provisions supporting both pupils and staff, and by their close collaboration with external wellbeing organisations and with parents” said Charlotte Gatherer, founder of The AcSEED Initiative. We are therefore delighted to announce that Sherborne House School has been accredited with The AcSEED Award”.

Pictured are Cordelia Crips (Headteacher), Nick Gatherer (Chief Executive, The AcSEED Initiative), Pam Holmes (Head of PSHE), and Jacqui Carter (Assistant Head Pastoral Lead and SENCO).

UK Government blog: What we are doing to improve the mental health of children and young people

In February 2022 the UK government reported through a blog on the measures being taken to improve the mental health of children and young people, including funding to introduce or improve wellbeing initiatives. As would be expected there was a strong focus on the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and associated restrictions, and measures being taken to support education recovery and return programmes. Whilst the State of the Nation Report on trends in mental health and wellbeing illustrate a degree of stability in the rate of probable mental health disorders in 2021 compared with 2020, it also recognised that the impact of the epidemic is likely to be long lasting.

Whilst there is no doubt that young people’s mental health and wellbeing has in general been adversely affected by the epidemic, we think it is also important to recognise that this is not specifically a Covid-19 issue but rather an existing problem that has been made worse by Covid-19. On a more positive note the restrictions imposed to manage the epidemic have resulted in an increased focus on mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges, and many of the resources created to support students through this difficult period will be highly valuable as on-going wellbeing provisions.

The blog also includes links to some useful resources including lesson packs and Wellbeing Support Videos.

The AcSEED Initiative is particularly supportive of government initiatives which will help and support schools and colleges to deliver the scope and quality of wellbeing provisions required for AcSEED accreditation which include:

• Promoting the need for a whole school/college approach to mental health and wellbeing which lies at the heart of the AcSEED wellbeing framework.
• Encouragement for schools and colleges to identify a senior mential health lead, which has been a mandatory requirement for AcSEED accreditation since its inception.
• Establishment of Mental Health Support Teams which provide valuable resources to help schools and colleges support the mental health and wellbeing of their students.

The full Government blog can be read here.

AcSEED at the Mental Health and Wellbeing Show

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, The AcSEED Initiative were delighted to attend the Mental Health and Welbeing Show in Cardiff on 10th May 2022.

AcSEED Chief Executive Nick Gatherer made a presentation on the AcSEED Mental Health and Wellbeing framework for UK Schools and Colleges.

The AcSEED presentation can be viewed here:

AcSEED Founder Charlotte Gatherer, and other AcSEED volunteers, were on hand to answer questions about the AcSEED framework and accreditation scheme.

Throughout the day we had great discussions about the use of AcSEED with staff working in schools and colleges, and also about potential opportunities for collaboration with other health and service organisations.

Wistaston Church Lane Academy receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to Wistaston Church Lane Academy in Crewe, Cheshire who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Receiving the award are some members of the School Council.

Gorse Hall receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to Gorse Hall Primary and Nursery School in Stalybridge, Cheshire who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Receiving the award are the Headteacher (Miss Flood), mental health lead (Miss Evans), KS2 Well-being ambassadors, and the staff and pupil Wellbeing Team.

Crosby High School receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to Crosby High School in Crosby, Merseyside who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Pictured are Gavin Dixon (Mental Health Lead) and the Year 11 Prefect Team at Crosby Hig School presenting their new AcSEED Award certificate to Helen Goodband (Link Governor).

St Olave's Grammar School receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Kent who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Receiving and celebrating the award are members of the school's Senior Prefect Team.

St Paul’s receive AcSEED Award

Congratulations to St Paul’s Church of England Primary School in Stalybridge, Cheshire who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Receiving the award with pupils from the school is the Pupil Wellbeing Lead Mrs Leanne Forrest.

Read more in the full press release here.

Kooth: An on-line Mental Health Support Platform

By Victoria Scrivens-Smith, AcSEED Volunteer

We traditionally think of mental health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges as being focused on in-house resources and/or face-to-face provisions. However there are an increasing number of on-line resources that can be both valuable and complementary.

Kooth (www.kooth.com) is an on-line Mental Health support platform that has been adopted by a number of AcSEED accredited organisations. AcSEED volunteer Victoria Scrivens-Smith talked to the wellbeing co-ordinator at Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College, Niamh McManus, about their experiences with Kooth.

Niamh told us that Kooth became a part of the college’s wellbeing provision after hearing about the availability of on-line counselling services at assemblies run for schools in the Trafford Borough area. “This was right for our pupils who have access to the help Kooth can offer outside of term time and we felt it was important for our pupils to know the support services which existed.”

• AcSEED: What response have you seen in students that are receiving support from Kooth?

  Niamh: Pupils who took part in the Kooth workshops enjoyed these and it had allowed the groups of boys to talk openly about male mental health and wellbeing. From my perspective of being in these workshops they were very thought provoking and allowed boys who would not usually share their feelings to do so in a safe environment.




• AcSEED: Do you have any numbers of how many students take up the support from Kooth either through direct referral from school or through students’ self-referring?

  Niamh: Due to the nature of Kooth we do not know which pupils have access to this as they set up their own usernames and passwords to be able to use this. I have worked with groups in workshops with Kooth in which these pupils all logged on to the Kooth website and gave their feedback on the website and how to make this more accessible to young people.




• AcSEED: What have you found are the benefits of having an online counselling service available?

  Niamh: Pupils of all year groups are made aware of this - this is advertised in their form rooms - this is to allow pupils who wish to access the service to make the decision to do this.




• AcSEED: How do you think the importance of online counselling being available to students during the holiday period is, do you see this as a key factor in deciding to use them?

  Niamh: It is very important for pupils and their parents to know where to access information and support outside of school time.




• AcSEED: Do you have any advice or suggestions for other schools and colleges considering the use of on-line counselling services?

  Niamh: Kooth operate in different areas but they are really useful in providing workshops and assemblies. I would definitely recommend getting in touch with them.

It is clear that Kooth has provided a useful addition to the wellbeing toolbox at Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College. The young people that founded AcSEED were very conscious of the need for pupils to have multiple options to reach out for help and support. Whilst in-school and in-person provisions will continue to be highly important, on-line services such as Kooth also look to have a useful role to play.

When a school/college decides to adopt an on-line mental health and wellbeing service, it is useful to consider how it will integrate and contribute to their overall wellbeing provision:

• How would on-line counselling services co-exist with more traditional face-to-face counselling provisions?
• How would the continuity of support be impacted by using on-line services as an out-of-term provision to complement in-house provisions?
• How will the quality and value of the on-line service be monitored? This could potentially be done by an external authority, however the school/college might find value from receiving some key metrics from the service (assuming this can be done whilst also protecting individual privacy):
• Number/percentage of pupils accessing the service.
• Year group (age) profile.
• Gender and minority group profiles.
• Support needs profile, particularly to identify any peaks or trends in specific wellbeing difficulties.

This type of data would enable schools and colleges to assess the potential need for alternative and/or additional mental health and wellbeing provisions.

We would like to thank Niamh McManus for her valuable insight on experiences of using Kooth at Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College.

If you have experience of using Kooth (or other on-line wellbeing services) as part of your school/college mental health and wellbeing provisions, do please let us know. We are happy to publish further feedback on the use of these service so that others can benefit from your practical experiences.

Write to us at: contact@acseed.org

More information on Kooth at: www.kooth.com

Report: Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools Conference

By Nick Gatherer, AcSEED Chief Executive

A look back at the 2019 Conference

The AcSEED Initiative was invited to present at the Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools conference in 2019. Our presentation described how the young people that founded AcSEED used their lived experience of mental health and wellbeing challenges at school to define the AcSEED wellbeing framework and criteria for accreditation.

Presenting with us were representatives from Trinity School and College in Rochester Kent, who were one of the first organisations to achieve AcSEED accreditation. Executive Principal Elizabeth Baines provided an overview of the school's approach to mental health and wellbeing, whilst 3 of the school's pupils described the positive impact that the school's ethos and support of staff support made to their own wellbeing. As an organization founded by young people it was an honour for us to be presenting alongside these young ambassadors. Their presentations were highly engaging, and their key messages full of positivity and hope. In my view a highlight of the whole conference!

2020 Conference

The 2020 conference was held on 11th November 2020, and due to Covid-19 restrictions was an on-line event. This is not a comprehensive report, but aims to highlights a few key messages.

• Alexandra Shaw from the Department for Education provided an update on the government's "Transforming children and young people's mental health provision" green paper. This document aims to deliver against the vision set out in the 2015 "Future in Mind" report compiled by a government taskforce that included AcSEED founder Charlotte.

  Despite the impact of Covid-19, the roll-out of regional Mental Health Support Teams is continuing with the aim to achieve 20%-25% coverage across the country by 2023. These teams are funded to provide interventions to support those with mild to moderate needs and support the promotion of good mental health and wellbeing. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG's) take the lead in establishing MH Support Teams, and are prioritizing according to local need. The Anna Freud Centre are driving the Link Programme which provides training and support for the collaboration between education and mental health professionals.

  The government green paper promotes a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing support, and continues to align well with the AcSEED wellbeing criteria. We believe that local Mental Health Support Teams, and training for senior mental health leads, will be valuable resources for schools aiming to achieve AcSEED accreditation.

• Zulfi Jiva, Head of Cross Cutting Programmes at Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership, reported findings and impact of the Greater Manchester Healthy Schools Project. As part of the Trailblazer Program to pilot Mental Health Support Teams, the project is now supporting 110 schools across Greater Manchester (approximately 10%). There has been a universally positive response from schools participating in the pilot scheme which has focused particularly on transitions. One observation is that the supervision model recommended by the national scheme is very resource intensive and may not be sustainable.

• Dr Julie Greer, Headteacher at Cherbourg Primary School in Hampshire, addressed the challenges faced by schools in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils. In addition to the whole school approach used at Cherbourg, Dr Greer highlighted the need to support staff wellbeing and the need for a supportive governing body.

• Jamie Smith, Director of the Schools Programme at the Anna Freud Centre, highlighted the organisation's mission to translate research evidence into practice. They provide a wide range of resources and training, including a 5-step framework for introducing a whole school/college approach to mental health and wellbeing. They also provide resources on measuring and monitoring wellbeing provisions.

Fairfield Road Primary School receive AcSEED Award

Staff from Fairfield Road Primary School receiving their AcSEED Award.

Congratulations to Fairfield Road Primary School in Droylsden Manchester who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

Receiving the award are:

Front row (left to right): Liz Bowden (School Counselor), Stephanie Burns (SMSC Leader), and Alexis Davies (Deputy Head).

Back row (left to right): Alec Stephenson (Headteacher), and Shelley Roche (School Liaison Officer).

Newport Girls' High School receive AcSEED Award

Receiving The AcSEED Award for Newport Girls' High School are Headteacher Michael Scott, and Head Girl Team students Ella, Minnie and Abbey.

Congratulations to Newport Girls' High School in Shropshire who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

This social distancing compliant photograph shows The AcSEED Award being received by Headteacher Michael Scott, together with members of the Head Girl Team, Ella, Minnie and Abbey.

"AcSEED promotes adoption of best practices in supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of young people in UK schools and colleges, and provides recognition for organisations that satisfy the AcSEED criteria for wellbeing support" said Charlotte Gatherer, founder of The AcSEED Initiative. "The AcSEED assessment team were particularly impressed by the strong wellbeing ethos at Newport Girls' High School, by their extensive mental health and wellbeing provisions, and by their comprehensive emotional health and wellbeing curriculum. We are therefore delighted to announce that Newport Girls’ High School has been accredited with The AcSEED Award".

Read the school announcement here.

Adelaide School receives AcSEED Award

Trinity opens first AcSEED Wellbeing Centre

The first AcSEED Wellbeing Center has been opened at Trinity School and College in Kent.

The AcSEED Initiative was founded by young people with lived experience of mental health and wellbeing issues during their school years. They identified safe spaces in schools as an important provision for taking 'time out' when experiencing increased levels of stress, and can also be used as therapy spaces. As low stimulation areas, they also provide a good setting for using sensory equipment.

AcSEED at the Trinity Autism Conference.

The AcSEED Wellbeing Centre was opened as part of the Trinity School and College Autism Conference. The opening ceremony was performed by AcSEED Founder Charlotte Gatherer and AcSEED Chief Executive Nick Gatherer.

Trinity School and College has been an AcSEED accredited school since 2015.

St Philip's School receives AcSEED Award

Receiving the AcSEED Award for St Philip's School are (from l to r): Debbie Battle (Safeguarding and Prevention officer, and Wellbeing Emotional Support Team Lead), Ben Walsh (Head teacher).

Congratulations to St Philip's School in Chessington, Surrey, who have been accredited with The AcSEED Award.

The AcSEED assessment team were impressed by the comprehensive wellbeing support provided by St Philip’s School, by the wide range of mental health and wellbeing information and training available, and by their tailoring of wellbeing provisions and services to meet the specific needs of their pupils.

Debbie Battle, Wellbeing Emotional Support Team (WEST) lead at St Philip's School said "We will continue to do everything we can to support our young people through any emotional difficulties they may encounter".

Read the school announcement here.