Mental Health Work
STAR
Investing in Children are a delivery partner of the STAR project (Support Targeted for Anxiety and Resilience) which follows on from the successful delivery of The Anxious About School Project, Durham Resilience Programme, Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) and Nurturing Our Wellbeing (NOW). However, it aims to bring them all together under one roof and offer schools access to the support through a structured and supportive process led by an Advisory Inclusion Teacher. STAR focuses on early intervention and prevention of mental health difficulties. As part of this offer Investing in Children will support schools to:
- Embed pupil voice within their wellbeing offer through a series of focus groups
- Deliver awareness raising assemblies and workshops
- Delivering the ASDAN accredited Peer Mentoring Programme
- Deliver the CPD certified Train the Trainer Staff Development Programme
Stamp it Out
Stamp It Out (now the SIO Partnership Hub) was established in 2016 as a partnership approach to challenging mental health stigma and discrimination in County Durham. Coordinated by Investing in Children the SIO Partnership Hub promotes and protects the health of the public, particularly those living with mental health conditions, in County Durham and the surrounding areas. This is done by educating the public in all areas relating to mental health conditions, in order to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people who experience mental health problems. This raises awareness of the signs and symptoms of poor mental health. To visit the SIO website click here.
Children & Young People's Mental Health Network
This county-wide network is open to anyone interested in Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in order to:
- Share good practice and ideas.
- Hear a range of guest speakers.
- Support each other.
- Have a voice to help improve mental health services for children and families in County Durham.
- Link to the County Durham Children and Young People’s Mental Health Partnership.
The Network is open to anyone interested in children and young peoples mental health & emotional wellbeing, a space to share practice and ideas, updates from guest speakers, a place to support each other.
Emotional Wellbeing Locality Forums
These forums are a perfect opportunity for mental health leads from education settings, and professionals from the wider mental health support system, to come together to share knowledge, best practice and raise awareness of what support there is available locally.
Following the roll out of the Anna Freud School Link Programme in County Durham in 2017 Investing in Children were commissioned by Public Health to develop and deliver termly meetings that enable education settings and wider services the opportunity to develop:
- Shared understandings across our workforce of mental health and how it affects our young people
- Raise awareness of good practice in key areas
- Increased knowledge of what support is available locally, and how to access it
- Develop closer working relationships across education settings and services that support improved practices
- Identify patterns of need that can inform commissioning
CAMHS Participation Groups
Investing in Children have a long standing agreement working to support the CAMHS Participation Groups across County Durham. CAMHS is the Child Adolescent Mental Health Service which within Durham is managed by TEWV NHS Foundation Trust and offers community based mental health support to children and young people up to the age of 18.
Investing in Children regularly link in with CAMHS Participation leads and attend the young people’s meetings to ensure children and young people that access CAMHS are meaningfully involved in ongoing dialogue and change. The participation groups meet on a monthly basis in the North, South and East of the County.
United Voice
Investing in Children are commissioned by NENC ICB on behalf of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Partnership. This work ensures that children and young people and their families are meaningfully involved in dialogue that results in change, to help improve access to mental health support enabling young people to receive the support at the right time.






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