Children’s Mental Health Week: getting help early for children and young people in Sussex
7 February 2025
This Children’s Mental Health Week (3 – 9 February 2025), NHS mental health experts in Sussex are calling on young people to reach out sooner rather than later.
Dr Selma Stafford, NHS Sussex Clinical Director Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health, said: “The sooner people reach out for support if they are experiencing periods of feeling sad, low or depressed, the better.
“There are lots of reasons why young people may need support, including anxiety, low self-esteem, friendship and family issues, or stress relating to money or education.”
In Sussex, young people aged 14 to 25 can get immediate, one to one support face to face at one of our community-based emotional wellbeing and mental health drop-in services such as i-Rock in East (Hastings and Eastbourne) and West Sussex (Horsham), and for 16 to 25 years olds, the Young People’s Centre (YPC) in Brighton.
Jennifer Tulloch, Head of Children and Young Peoples Service for the charity Impact Initiatives, which works alongside other organisations at the Young People’s Centre (YPC) in Brighton, said: " At Impact Initiatives, we believe every child and young person deserves a safe, supportive space to thrive.
“This Children's Mental Health Week, and every week we're proud to collaborate with our partners at the Young People’s Centre and beyond to offer seamless, integrated wellbeing and mental health services across Brighton and Hove. Together, we're ensuring every young person can access the support they need to build resilience, confidence, and a brighter future."
As well as one-to-one in-person wellbeing support for those who need it, the Young People’s Centre also hosts weekly group support sessions, where 14–19-year-olds can engage in various creative, cooking, and practical activities while nurturing peer support, friendship, and community building; the nature-based Wild Mind Project for young people who identify as LGBTQ+ and who have mild to moderate learning disabilities; and work in partnership with other Allsorts, Young Carers and the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) Assertive Outreach team to provide tailored sessions for young people to learn new skills, receive support and signposting.
This Children’s Mental Health Week, Impact Initiatives has also created a special schools’ resource pack with help from a team of children from Downs Junior Primary School and Patcham Junior Primary School in Brighton.
The charity works closely with schools across Brighton and Hove to support pupil’s wellbeing, including through the Playground Buddies programme, which focuses on anti-bullying; whole class workshops; and providing 1:1 or small group intervention work.
Mental health support in Sussex schools
Children and young people in the majority of Sussex schools can access support via local Mental Health Support Teams. A partnership between the NHS and local authorities, they support pupils directly with mild to moderate mental health issues such as sleep difficulties, low mood, or anxiety.
Sussex Mental Health Support Teams are the most active in the Southeast, supporting the largest number of families and schools with mental health and emotional wellbeing, in and outside of the classroom.
The teams not only provide direct support to pupils but advise staff and liaise with external specialist services to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education. They also host workshops for parents and carers and promoting a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing in and outside of the classroom with teaching staff.
“Having a trained and skilled practitioner in school on a regular basis has made a real difference to pupils, families and staff,” said a Sussex teacher. “The practitioner can offer a range of support, including one to one work and group work, depending on specific individual and school needs. They are also based on the school site so able to advise and liaise with staff, upskilling them and helping support the wider community as a result. The team sees children within their own school setting which reduces anxiety and missed appointments, as well as loss of learning through travelling time.”
In addition to the wellbeing support provided by the West Sussex Mental Health Support Team, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is working closely with them to deliver psychological interventions, with the aim of increasing access and reducing waiting times for support.
ECHOES (Evaluating a Coping intervention for Hearing voices in Young People in Secondary schools) focusses on hearing voices, a common problem that is reported by approximately one in eight young people.
Professor Mark Hayward from Sussex Partnership's research department said: "The ECHOES study is offering a CBT-informed intervention in schools to young people who are distressed by hearing voices.
"We want to offer early help within a familiar environment. The ECHOES study is being delivered in partnership with Thought-Full, the provider of mental health support in West Sussex schools."