Proposals for school-based counselling pilot
Plans for a new school-based counselling pilot will be discussed by councillors at the Children’s, Families and Schools Committee on Thursday 29 February.
The proposed pilot would be aimed at providing young people, who have difficulty accessing learning due to their mental health, with additional counselling support.
If agreed, the council will work with head teachers and key staff to introduce a pilot counselling service for Year 9 students for the school year beginning in September 2024.
The aim is for the service to sit alongside and increase the current mental health and wellbeing support available to students in the city’s state schools.
Improving mental health support
The proposal comes in response to a campaign from the Brighton & Hove Citizens UK group to improve mental health support in schools.
A 2022 Public Health report on mental health and wellbeing in the city also showed that Brighton & Hove school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs are higher than the England average.
The pilot will be evaluated throughout the course of the year and will inform how to continue to offer emotional wellbeing support in schools.
Councillor Jacob Taylor, co-chair of the council's Children, Families and Schools Committee, said: “The evidence is clear that the number of students struggling with their mental health and wellbeing has increased in recent years.
“This is having a devastating impact on school attendances and attainment across the country and proving a barrier to our children and young people enjoying a happy, healthy and fulfilling start to life.
"Our Schools Mental Health Service provides our most vulnerable young people with support but, like many mental health services across the UK, these services are stretched to capacity.
“We’re aiming for the pilot to provide additional counselling support for young people in our schools who have difficulty accessing learning due to their mental health, with
“We’re keen to work with our schools to set up the pilot for Year 9 students to make sure young people have access to the right services when they need it most.”
