Need urgent help?

Schools in all districts across Devon now covered by Mental Health Support Team

Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) is proud to announce that schools across all districts in Devon are now able to access support from The Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST). This milestone achievement ensures that from 2025 nearly 70% of children attending schools within Devon and Torbay can access early intervention that supports children and young people with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

MHST’s initiative represents a significant investment in the future of children and young people across Devon and Torbay, bringing specialised mental health support to the classroom. With this rollout, MHST is not only levelling the playing field for students across all backgrounds but is also providing educators with powerful tools to create an enriched and mindful learning environment.

Holly Billington, Service Lead for MHST said, “We are thrilled to bring The Mental Health Support Team services to all districts across Devon and by 2025 will be supporting nearly 70% of all children attending school in Devon and Torbay.

We are actively petitioning the government for the further funding required to cover the last 32% of children attending schools within the area. On top of this, we have a small team of Children’s Wellbeing practitioners (CWPs) supporting the mild-moderate mental health needs of children and young people across Devon and Torbay who don’t attend an MHST supported school, or who are out of education.”

Emma O’Connell, Deputy Director of Children and Family Health Devon said, “This is an incredible achievement for our service and I would like to thank the MHST team who have worked tirelessly to bring this roll out to fruition. By investing in such initiatives, CFHD can continue to demonstrate its commitment to providing both mental and physical health support to children and young people across Devon and Torbay. Our goal has always been to support as many children and young people as we can by providing them with the resources they need to succeed and maintain good mental health. This achievement brings us one step closer to ensuring that students who are experiencing mild to moderate, common mental health difficulties have access to our service, regardless of where they live or go to school.”

Earlier this year CFHD was shortlisted for two Mental Health Awards with CFHD’s Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST) winning the Innovative Mental Health Intervention award.

This national recognition highlights the high standard of care and innovative support that CFHD and MHST brings to its communities. Winning the Innovative Mental Health Intervention is a significant achievement, highlighting the impactful work the service carries out every day.

About The Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST)

The Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST) is an NHS service commissioned to work with a number of schools across Devon and Torbay and in the community. MHST offer early intervention to help children and young people with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

MHST offer individual and group Low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Li-CBT) evidence-based interventions. We additionally work in schools to support their ‘whole school approach’ to mental health by offering:

For more information on The Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST) or Children and Family Health Devon, visit  www.childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk