Our mental health support offer is multi-faceted, addressing prevention, early intervention, and ongoing support.  Our Personal Development curriculum, which is delivered to all year groups, teaches our students about mental health, stress management and emotional wellbeing.  The safe and inclusive environment at Washington Academy also supports the mental health of our students.  Heads of Year and tutor teams are easily accessible and are well-trained to provide opportunities for students to be heard, reflect on positives and move forward at Washington Academy.    

Some of our students require further support to manage their emotions and mental health.  For these students, our offer includes:

Interventions in the Learning Resource Unit (LSU)

We offer a wide range of small group interventions which take place over a six-week programme to boost a student's mental health, such as breathing space, emotional resilience, social skills curriculum, as well as therapy sessions including art, music and Lego.

PALS

Washington PALS are a team of older students who are role models for younger students at Washington Academy. They volunteer to make a difference and support students to build confidence and relationships, develop resilience and character, raise aspirations, support transition from primary to secondary school, overcome peer pressure, and improve the attendance of others. PALs meet once per week during tutor time to act as a support mechanism for vulnerable students. The mentor role not only supports our younger students but develops communication and interaction skills amongst our mentors whilst offering a sense of purpose which supports their own mental health.

Washington Mind – In School Counselling Service

Our young people have access to fully trained counsellors in school with minimal wait time. This offers an initial triage appointment and a 6 week programme focussed on their mission to provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.

Work with the Local Authorities Mental Health Support Team

Washington Academy works closely with the Mental Health Support Team who provide additional capacity for early support to our students. They are delivering evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues.  Our mental health support team have delivered workshops such as 'Living Life to the Full Programme' and 'Understanding and Coping with Anxiety in School' to support our young people. The team are committed to working with individual students as requested by school to support an array of mental health issues. They have also been known to reduce the wait for external mental health agencies such as CAMHS.

Referrals – where it is felt that more specialised input is required, staff are trained to refer to agencies such as CAMHS (Child and Adult Mental Health Service), CYPS (Child & Young People's Service) and Educational Psychologists.