A message to professionals working with children and young people during the Covid-19 outbreak

Thank you to Retune who have created and shared this song dedicated to every Key Worker out there.

1. Information for Children and young people about MH and EWB during Coronavirus – Updated  - It’s really important that you will either share the information for children and young people directly with pupils or parents via email, google classrooms, PSHE lessons, and discuss them on pastoral check up calls or put it on the school website and highlight the information in newsletters. 
2. Supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during coronavirus for professionals - Updated - Please share the information for professionals document with all school staff.
3. Bereavement resource for schools  – Created by members of Herts EP service with contribution from colleagues across the system. This resource has a number of sections within it including support for staff, support for families and support for children and young people. It includes activities and information to support schools in planning for the anticipated need of psychological wellbeing during Covid-19.

There is also free training for schools on bereavement available this week and next. https://www.childbereavementuk.org/bereavement-awareness-training-for-education-providers

In addition, there have been three helplines established for schools, Families and CYP which could help to support emerging problems.

• The ‘Schools and Families Advice Line’ (SFAL) is a new service established to provide emotional wellbeing advice and early help to children and young people, school staff and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families and young people can self-refer to this service.If you feel this service could help, please call our Single Point of Access (SPA) who will take your details before passing them onto our call back service. 

Telephone: 0300 777 0707 Email: You will get a call back from a mental health practitioner between 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday. – See updated SAFL comms attached

• Herts Mind Network have launched a new early intervention and prevention helpline for children and young people aged 10-17 in Herts. For opening hours and more information please visit the website https://www.hertsmindnetwork.org/young-peoples-helpline. Helpline number is 01923 256391

• The Educational Psychology Service (ISL) have also expanded their 'quick queries' Contactline service across Hertfordshire. The Contact line is available Monday to Friday from 2:00pm to 4:30pm for all parents/caregivers, young people (aged 16 -25), school staff and professionals.

Other helpful information for sharing with Children, young people and families:

• Public Health COVID-19 Webinar for Young People: A recording of the LIVE Young Peoples Covid-19 webinar is now available to view via: https://www.justtalkherts.org/News/Youth-webinar.aspx

The webinar addressed questions that have been raised by young people.  The webinar panel included Professor Jim McManus, Herts Director of Public Health; Councillor Tim Hutchings, Cabinet Member for Public Health; Simon Newland, Education Operations Director, Hertfordshire County Council; and Liz Shapland, Deputy Education Services Director, Herts for Learning.

A full list of questions and answers submitted during the Q&A, will available on this website in due course, along with British Sign Language translation.

Free online courses by Families in Focus for Hertfordshire parents:

1. Handling Anger in Your Family: Quality, evidence based course providing proven & practical strategies to reduce anger in your family. Funded by Hertfordshire County Council & free for parents living in Hertfordshire & caring for children from 5 years to 11 years.
2. Complete Guide to Parenting CHildren with SEND: A Complete Guide to Parenting Children with ALL SpecialEducation Needs & related conditions inclusive of those awaiting diagnosis/assessment. This course is free for all parents living in Hertfordshire and caring for a primary aged child inclusive of those awaiting diagnosis or with a diagnosis of all Special Education Needs, Autism, ADHD etc.

Additional Information:  30th April 2020:

Please share this promotional e-flyer for Hertfordshire's Young People's Coronavirus webinar which takes place on Thursday 14th May at 11.30am. This free webinar is available to 11-19s who are living or educated in Hertfordshire.

Spot the signs new signposting guide this is a fully-funded programme offering training and workshops to children and young people (CYP), parents/carers and professional's working with CYP click here.

Supporting young people in Welwyn Hatfield, Join an online youth project in Welwyn Hatfield call us today click here for further information.

Free 70 day lockdown wellbeing programme for families: https://www.zumos.co.uk/

Links to some free training delivered by Harmless who are a self-harm support and training organisation (please note that not all trainings are free): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/harmless-lets-talk-training-14795237737

Due to the changes in need from Children's mental health services in Hertfordshire; information and links have been collated in one document for your reference 'Supporting chidren and young peoples mental health and well being during coronavirus for professionals' Click here to view document

This document provides a wealth of information for children and young people on how to look after their emoational wellbeing and mental health.Please share this resource with children and young people - Looking after your mental health and wellbeing during Coronavirus - Information for Children and Young People

Coronavirus bereavement resources:

Coronavirus Bereavement - Helping a child when someone they care about has a serious coronavirus illness or has died: a guide for parents, carers and professionals -  This guide has been created to help parents and carers support a child after the death of someone special to them. It includes information about bereavement after Coronavirus and how the restrictions in place because of it can affect bereaved children generally. It can also be used by professionals to help them know how they can support bereaved children and families they come into contact with. Many of the organisations linked here have advice for professionals too.

Coronavirus Bereavement - a guide for adults - Helping you manage bereavement and grief during the COVID-19 outbreak. This guide has been created in response to the extraordinary events and circumstances that are happening in the UK and around the world because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that are affecting howpeople grieve. It has been created to help support you if a loved one has died because of coronavirus, or they have died during the resulting lockdown because of other reasons that also affect the ways that you can mourn and grieve.

Coronavirus Bereavement - A guide to helping teenagers grieve and further advice in relation to the Coronavirus situation. This guide has been written to help teenagers manage the distressing and confusing reactions that happen when someone dies. Please share this with young people as appropriate. The information is also avialble on the Young People page on this website.

Additional resources: 17th April 2020:

Apps:

Catch it: Uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help users learn how to manage feelings like anxiety and depression. Users can record and rate their mood, helping them to keep track of progress and identify triggers to their symptoms.

Stress & Anxiety companion: helps users handle stress and anxiety on-the-go. It provides tools like breathing exercises, relaxing music and games. Goals is to help users change negative thoughts to help them better cope with life's ups and downs.

Additional resources: 09 April 2020:

Strategic Leads for MH in Schools

NHS information:

• The National Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism COVID-19 Workspace (which includes a CYP page). To request to join this workspace please follow the link https://future.nhs.uk/MHLDAcovid19/grouphome and select “join” at the bottom of the page.

The Learning Disabilities and Autism, and Mental Health Programmes, together with Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Specialised Commissioning, have formed a team to support an effective and efficient response by NHS England and NHS Improvement to the COVID-19 virus.  This workspace is used to share information from the new national Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism COVID-19 response cell, and encourage mental health, learning disability and autism leads and providers to share advice and feedback on how best to look after our patients and staff during these difficult times.

• Epic Friends produced by Sheffield CAMHS has been created to support young people who are worried about their friends emotional wellbeing. It is specifically designed for 12-18 year olds.

Other charities and organisations quality assured resources:

• Mental Health First Aid England have put together a number of resources for remote working. Resources are divided for those who are Mental Health First Aiders and resources for Everyone.

• A free downloadable book for children about coronavirus illustrated by Axel Sheffler (Gruffalo)

• Think Ninja - Great downloadable app for 10+ now with Coronavirus support content.

• YoungMinds advice/resources for young people and parents/carers during the pandemic, including for those with eating disorders, OCD and anxiety: https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/

• The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health have published this podcast: Coronavirus, and helping children with autism – ‘Autism, a parents guide’

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Additional resources: 01 April 2020:

• Every Mind Matters – Information from the NHS about  looking after your mental health and emotional wellbeing during coronavirus including guidance, advice and tips on how to maintain your mental wellbeing if you need to stay at home: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters

• This website provides additional links and resources that are quality assured and provide supportive guidance about how to support children and young people’s emotional wellbing during Covid-19. It also had other sections with useful apps and videos: https://www.camhs-resources.co.uk/coronovirus

• The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health have published this podcast: Coronavirus, and helping children with autism – ‘Autism, a parents guide’:  Click here.

• Public Health England Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak: Click here

• Public Health England Guidance for the public on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of coronavirus (Covid-19):  Click here

• Public Health England PDF guide (an easy read guide) on Looking after your feelings and your body (coronavirus pdf): Click here

• British Eating Disorders Society: You can sign up to BREDS (British Eating Disorders) Webspace which a wealth of useful information, support and guidance is being shared.  The link to sign up to BREDS is breds.org.uk, where you can fill in a form to get login details for the site, which is found at http://breds.workplace.com/work/landing/input/  It looks a lot like Facebook, so it is very easy to navigate. The society has a dedicated East of England Clinical Network group, one of the many you can join.

• Survivors of Bereavement: A national charity working towards meeting the needs and overcome the isolation experienced by people over 18 who have been bereaved by suicide. They have a National Helpline Monday to Friday: 0300 111 5065 9am – 9pm:

https://uksobs.org/?doing_wp_cron=1585557831.5814399719238281250000

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Additional resources: 25 March 2020:

• Just Talk is a Hertfordshire multi-agency campaign for promoting and maintaining good mental health. Within the Just Talk website, there is a specific Covid-19 page which  is updated on a daily basis containing collated and new resources and information for young people and parents:  https://www.justtalkherts.org/news/looking-after-your-mental-health-during-coronavirus.aspx
• To view information relating to Safer Places Domestic Abuse Services Click here
• To view information relating to HCC Childrens Services including Families First Click here
• Educational Psychology Contactline Service expansion information in relation to Covid-19 service provision. The service provides telephone support to parents and school professionals.
• Public Health Nursing Chathealth is a confidential texting service for all young people aged 11-19 in Hertfordshire. The service continues to support children and young people during the Covid-19 outbreak. Using this service may be a good first point of contact for some young people as nurses can support/ signpost/ escalate as necessary. Chiidren and young people can access it annonymously by texting: 07480 635050. More information can be accessed on the Public Health Nursing page
• Public Health Nursing also has two websites which provides excellent, age appropriate advice for children, young people and their families. These can be accessed here: Health for kids and Health for Teens
• The Mental Health Foundation provides useful and sound infromation about how to look after your mental health during the Coronavirus outbreak with responds to a range of issues including: how to look after your mental health if you are working from home, talking to your children about the coronavirus pandemic, random acts of kindness during the pandemic, resources for those living in difficult circumstances during the coronavirus outbreak among other useful information. They highlight the following tips:

• Try to avoid speculation and look up reputable sources on the outbreak

• Try to stay connected at times of stress, we work better in company and with support. Try and keep in touch with your friends and family

• Try to anticipate distress – its normal to feel vulnerable and overwhelmed, it is important to acknowledge these feelings

• A booklet was shared with us as a creative way of supporting and reassuring children in relation to how they may be feeling about the Covid virus. This resource is mostly applicable to under 7's and the link provides a free access to the same booklet in a number of languages.

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Dear colleagues,

All organisations are working tirelessly to manage the continuously changing and developing situation of Covid-19; In light of this, we wanted to share with you some helpful links that focus on how we can all look after our mental health and emotional wellbeing during this time. We are aware that you have already been provided with significant medical and practical advice on how to manage the virus pandemic within your setting and therefore are focusing here on looking after mental health and emotional wellbeing.

First – we would like to thank all professionals for all the hard work that you are currently doing to support the children, young people and their families during this challenging time. Due to the unprecedented nature of this situation, there are many unanswered questions, and lots of media attention, which can lead to anxiety and stress among children, young people, parents/ carers and colleagues, and we thank you for the role you play in managing their anxieties.

We hope that you will find the following information about how to look after our mental health and emotional wellbeing helpful not only in supporting the children, young people and families you are working with, but also for yourself, your colleagues, friends and families alike. Please share the links with parents or any colleagues you think would benefit from having this information.

1. Young Minds have published great resources and ideas about things adults and young people can do to manage any stress and anxiety they may experience in relation to coronavirus:http://youngminds.org.uk/blog/what-to-do-if-you-re-anxious-about-coronavirus/

They also have a mental health advice line available for parents operating between 09:30am-4pm, Monday- Friday: 0808 802 5544

2. The following Young Minds link addresses how to look after your mental health when self-isolating: http://youngminds.org.uk/blog/looking-after-your-mental-health-while-self-isolating/

3. Centers for Disease Control and prevention provide some helpful messages on how to talk to children about Coronavirus: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/talking-with-children.html

4. Every Mind Matters provides general information about looking after your mental health which would be relevant during this challenging time as much as at any other time and provides top tips to improve emotional wellbeing: http://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

5. Mind website provides useful information about how to cope if people feel anxious about coronavirus, how to manage staying well at home if being asked to self-isolate and taking care of your mental health and wellbeing among other tips and advice:  http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

6. Education Support website is dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of education staff in schools, colleges and universities. It contains free information including  a free 24/7 helpline – 08000 562 561: http://www.educationsupport.org.uk/

It also has financial advice information for supply teachers: http://www.educationsupport.org.uk/helping-you/information-supply-teachers-contractors-coronavirus

7. Hertfordshire Mind Network provides a crisis helpline for anyone experiencing mental health distress or requiring emotional support and signposting. Professionals, family/ friends can call on someone’s behalf with the individual’s consent. Crisis Helpline number: 01923 256 391 or visit http://www.hertsmindnetwork.org/

8. The Anna Freud Centre 'Schools in Mind' have worked closely with settings to help promote whole-school and college approaches to wellbeing. They are conscious that the Coronavirus is creating increased pressure and additional workload for school and college staff at an already busy time of the school year. Therefore, they have produced this document which they hope will give some guidance about how to maintain children’s wellbeing at a time of uncertainty.

They have also developed three helpful videos: one for schools staff, one for parents and one for children and young people.

9. Addressing social stigma associated with Covid-19 published by the WHO and UNICEF: http://www.epi-win.com/sites/epiwin/files/content/attachments/2020-02-24/COVID19%20Stigma%20Guide%2024022020_1.pdf

We will be providing a weekly update via the Healthy Young Mind in Herts to ensure that there is helpful safe advice around managing self-care. There will also be a webpage for young people and families, focussed on how to cope during periods of self-isolation, appearing very soon on http://www.justtalkherts.org/just-talk-herts.aspx

Stay well. Stay safe. Thank you for all that you do.

 

Breda O’Neill – Strategic Leads for Mental Health in Schools - East & North Herts CCG

Yael Leinman – Strategic Leads for Mental Health in Schools - Herts Valleys CCG

Jen Beer - Health Improvement Lead. Children and Young People - Public Health

Melanie Flay - Principal Educational Psychologist (West)/Strategic Lead – ISL – Children's Services