The Isle of Wight Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is celebrating its 5th anniversary, marking half a decade of helping children and young people with their emotional wellbeing across the Island.
Established in January 2021 during the COVID-19 lockdown, the team quickly became part of the children’s and young people’s mental health pathway on the Isle of Wight.
Since then, they have expanded from supporting just 8 schools to working with the majority of the Island’s mainstream schools, colleges and sixth forms, providing assistance to pupils, parents and school staff.
With the Government now placing increasing emphasis on early intervention and prevention in mental health, the MHST is playing a key role in supporting young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties before issues escalate.
The team delivers one-to-one interventions, group sessions, consultations and supports a whole-school approach to mental wellbeing. Additional training has also enabled practitioners to respond to a wider range of emerging mental health concerns.
As well as working directly with young people, the MHST supports school staff in recognising common mental health problems and helps Designated Mental Health Leads oversee the support available to students.
Charlotte Young, MHST Clinical Team Lead said:
“I am proud of the MHST’s journey, from initially working with 8 schools to now being able to offer our services across Island schools.
Article continues below this advertisement “The team tailors our support to meet the needs of each school community, whether this is class-based workshops on sleep for Year 4 students or helping Year 11 pupils manage exam stress.”
Over the past 5 years, the team has received more than 1,900 referrals, carried out over 1,500 assessments and delivered in excess of 5,200 one-to-one sessions, highlighting the growing demand for mental health support among young people on the Isle of Wight.
The team says it is looking forward to continuing its work after the Government pledged ongoing funding for the service.
Charlotte Young added:
“I am looking forward to the future and continuing to work with our schools to improve the mental wellbeing of the Island’s students.”
Anyone seeking further information about the Mental Health Support Team can email [email protected].
