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Urgent concerns about a child’s mental health should be referred to;
- Your GP
- A&E
- CAMHS Duty Officer: 0300 3040061
- Sussex Mental Healthline: 0300 5000101
School closure has inevitably brought significant changes to family routine. These changes may mean that children are dealing with unfamiliar situations. In some cases, this could mean your child spending a significant amount of time home alone. If this is new to your child you may wish to consider discussing what they would need to do given different scenarios. For example, if they felt unwell and couldn’t get hold of you, or if someone knocks on the door etc.
Home Alone Guidance for parents from the NCPCC; https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/in-the-home/home-alone/
You may find the Unicef link below helpful with regulating your teenager’s emotional health;
Additionally the Anna Freud Centre has produced some very good strategies to promote self-care and a useful guide has been produced by Psychology Tools on ‘Living with worry and anxiety amidst global uncertainty’;
https://www.annafreud.org/on-my-mind/self-care/
Should you telephone the school, you will be able to leave a message and these will be accessed each morning - we will aim to respond within 24hrs.
It is really important that you as parents/carers keep us informed of any significant events that happen within your families, so that we can work alongside you to support your child.
All NHS mental health trusts are setting up 24/7 helplines, and seeking to use digital and virtual channels, to continue delivering support during the pandemic.
Social connections, alongside exercise, sleep, diet and routine, are important protective factors for mental health. Resources to promote and support mental wellbeing are included in the list of online resources we have published to help children to learn at home. Public Health England has also published guidance on supporting children and young people’s mental health. The Department of Health and Social Care is providing £5m of additional funding for mental health charities to support adults and children.
Digital support includes:
- Minded educational resources for adults about children and young people’s mental health, which is relevant for teachers, other professionals working with children, volunteers, parents and carers;
- The Every Mind Matters platform, from Public Health England, about looking after your mental health;
- Rise Above, targeted at young people, which also has schools-facing lesson plans.
