Service description
Mental Health Support Teams in Schools (MHST) are part of a national programme to reduce inequalities and increase access to mental health support for children and young people.
The LPT service works with over 300 schools across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Who are the Mental Health Support Teams in Schools (MHST)?
We are NHS teams that work in your child’s school. We help children and young people aged 5 to 18 years old who need some support with their feelings and mental health. The MHST have practitioners who are trained to support children and young people with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.
We also work with teachers and school staff to make schools a better place for everyone’s emotional wellbeing.
How we work with schools and colleges
- We support schools and colleges to learn more about mental health and the things that can help to promote positive emotional wellbeing. We encourage schools and colleges to make positive changes to help everyone.
- We help everyone to know it is okay to talk about their feelings and ask for support.
- We offer workshops and assemblies on positive mental health.
The team work collaboratively with the school or college mental health lead and senior leadership team to raise awareness and promote better mental health for everyone as part of the schools’ or college’ ‘Whole School and College Approach‘.
Information for schools
If your school would like more information on the MHST programme, please contact: lpt.llrmhstinfo@nhs.net
How MHSTs will support your school (core offer)
We will deliver evidence-based interventions for mild-moderate mental health issues in one of the following ways:
- Individual face-to-face work: Low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT) interventions for children, young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health concerns based on up-to-date evidence.
- Group work: Both targeted and whole school group work tailored to identified need.
- Group parenting classes: Currently offered virtually.
- Whole school approach: Including staff training, whole school assemblies, workshops and being involved in health fairs
- Working alongside education settings to ensure safeguarding procedures around the MHST are aligned with your school’s existing systems and support your needs as a school.
- Sessions provided in education settings with the option for virtual contacts outside of term time. MHST will ensure adherence to appropriate Covid-secure measures to maintain the safety of all concerned.
We will also provide you with a welcome pack to support ongoing collaborative working, explain about the EMHP role, remit, and training requirements, and set out the support that the local MHST will be able to offer.
As a participating school, you will be required to:
- Identify a named member of senior staff to be the Mental Health Lead. They will liaise with our EMHPs to discuss either individual student or whole school concerns. They will play an important part within school in sharing best practice, lessons learned and supporting the involvement of colleagues such as the SENCO or the pastoral team. This individual must have sufficient capacity within their role to take on this responsibility.
- Involve children, young people, and their families/carers from the school community in the ongoing development of the MHST.
- Supporting with creating a tailored MHST Supporting with service evaluation and audits to continually improve the service offer.
- Identify appropriate accommodation that could be used for group work and individual interventions where these can best be carried out in a supportive way with minimal disruption.
Referral criteria
Referral process
Mental health concerns regarding specific children and young people are referred by the school’s mental health lead following discussion with the MHST team. Consent is obtained from parents/carers prior to consultation. Advice and signposting to other appropriate services can also be provided by MHST.