Training

• Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are for everyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged eight to 18. They will teach you the skills and confidence to spot the signs of mental health issues in a young person, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up a young person’s recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse. 

The Council are delivering free courses for school staff. Please look out for emails from the public health team for upcoming courses

Opportunities / Upcoming Projects

• Kooth

Kooth is a free NHS and Local Authority-funded counselling service which provides free online mental health and wellbeing support to all young people (11-25 years old) in Waltham Forest. Young people can register anonymously and access online counselling 365 days of the year, digital magazines, wellbeing activities, and connect with other young people.  Professional counsellors are available for one-to-one chat sessions from 12pm until 10pm on weekdays and 6pm until 10pm on weekends.

• School Mental Health Ambassadors  

The School Mental Health Ambassador (SMHA) programme involves young adults aged 18–25 years delivering in-person, 1-1 peer support sessions to secondary school pupils with mild mental health symptoms. The aim is to inspire hope, remove stigma around mental health, provide a safe space to talk and to encourage self-awareness regarding mental health and social wellbeing. SMHAs are trained and receive ongoing supervision from a clinical lead. 

This programme is commissioned by Waltham Forest council’s Public Health team and delivered by Groundwork London. Contact Catherine Hutchinson, Senior Public Health Strategist, for more information.

Toolkits

• Mental Health Charter

Waltham Forest council and partners launched the Young People’s Mental Health Charter on 10 October 2019. The charter consists of twenty statements of intent, detailing ways in which different organisations and individuals can foster good mental health in young people.

• Anna Freud Mentally Healthy Schools

Anna Freud is a world leading mental health charity for children and families. One of the initiatives led by this charity is Mentally Healthy Schools. This project brings together quality-assured mental health resources, information and advice for schools and further education settings.