Staff support sessions (Place2Think)
Place2Think is a confidential support service run by a qualified Place2Be clinician available to all staff working in our partner schools.
The service provides a safe, therapeutic space that encourages reflective practice and allows school staff to:
- share challenges they are facing in their roles
- process the emotional impact of working with pupils with mental health issues
- learn the importance of building relationships for emotional wellbeing
- support their own mental health
- reduce isolation by building a peer support network.
Sessions facilitate 6–8 participants. A one-to-one service is also available for staff members who are identified as requiring more targeted support.
Training and CPD
All staff in our partner schools have access to specialist mental health training. Sessions are delivered by one of our School Project Managers or Educational Psychologists, depending on needs. You can visit the Our school community team page to learn more about the roles of School Project Managers and Educational Psychologists.
Our School Project Managers deliver initial training sessions. Sessions may include:
- Introduction to Place2Be and our Clinical Delivery Model
- Introduction to Attachment
- Staff Wellbeing and Self-Care.
Following consultation with your SPM, as a partner school, you may be offered additional training workshops to support whole-school development. These workshops are developed in response to the needs of your school and delivered by one of our Educational Psychologists. Topics covered may include things like:
- understanding and supporting the mental health needs of neurodiverse pupils
- whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing
- understanding and responding to relational trauma and adversity.
As a Place2Be partner school, you will also have access to our:
- Mental Health Champions Foundation Programme — suitable for anyone working with children and young people
- Senior Mental Health Leads programme — available to staff wanting to become a Senior Mental Health Lead (England only).
If your school is located in Scotland, you can gain access to our Senior Mental Health Leads programme (Scotland) for an extra cost.
Guidance and safeguarding support
Our safeguarding team works in partnership with Place2Be partner school's safeguarding link to help keep pupils safe. As a partner school, you will benefit from safeguarding support such as:
- specialist safeguarding training delivered by our safeguarding team
- safeguarding consultations
- assistance with escalating concerns about a child, young person or family in the school community.
To learn more about how we safeguard our service users, visit our Safeguarding policy page.
