Ministerial visit to Patcham High School showcases counselling pilot

On Thursday 22 May, Patcham High School hosted Stephen Morgan MP, Minister for Early Education, Councillor Jacob Taylor, deputy leader of Brighton & Hove City Council and Councillor Emma Daniel, Cabinet member for Children, Families and Youth Services, to showcase the impact of our school counselling project.

As well as meeting the headteacher, John McKee, and support staff at Patcham High School, the minister and councillors were able to discuss the importance of mental health and its effects on attendance with students who have benefited from the project.

The students shared their experiences of counselling and recommendations for the future of the project; they also highlighted the power of speaking out about one’s feelings and sharing issues with trusted counsellors, teachers or parents.

School counselling pilot

In September 2024 we launched a school-based counselling pilot for Year 9 students in all state secondary and academy schools across the city. This was later expanded to include pupils in Years 8 and 10.

The project aims to provide additional support alongside the Schools Mental Health Service for children and young people who have experienced challenges accessing education as a result of their mental health.

Between September 2024 and April 2025, 124 young people accessed counselling support through the project, with the counselling team providing a total of 701 sessions.

Committed approach to inclusion

Councillor Jacob Taylor, deputy leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “Patcham High School is a wonderful school and we're really proud of its committed approach to inclusion.

“Their ambition is to keep all pupils in school, and staff have put a lot of support systems in place to avoid exclusions.

“It was great to hear from three individual pupils who talked about their journey with accessing mental health support from a counsellor, and how that helped them be more confident and stay in school.

“It was an inspiring and informative visit and we're looking forward to continuing and expanding this work.”

Breaking down the barriers to opportunity

Stephen Morgan, Minister for Early Education, said: “It was fantastic to visit Patcham High School, seeing how mental health support helps break down the barriers to opportunity and make sure that every child gets the best start in life.

“What I’ve seen here shows how counsellors can work alongside mental health support teams to ensure every child can achieve and thrive in school.

“This is a brilliant addition to our work to give children the mental health support they need earlier, by recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers and giving every child access to mental health support in school.”

Helping families thrive

John McKee, headteacher at Patcham High School, said: “We were delighted to welcome Minister Stephen Morgan and our local councillors to see first-hand how our counselling pilot is supporting students’ well-being and attendance.

“This initiative has already made a significant difference in helping young people feel heard, valued, and to be able to fully engage in their education. We look forward to building on this success to ensure every pupil thrives.”

Kerry Hallett, director of Student Support at Patcham High School, added: “We are very proud of the support we give young people with their mental health, and helping to keep them in education, as well as the relationships that we build with our parents and families in the community.

“Signposting parents and supporting them with their own well-being and mental health helps the families thrive together.”

Next steps

Since the project launched last year, the school counselling team have observed that boys and young men are less likely to access counselling, while Black and racially minoritised young people do not always wish to access one-to-one talking therapies.

The counselling team hope to tackle this by broadening their offer to include more group work and using a wider range of delivery methods. This would support the approach taken by the Schools Mental Health Service, providing a more flexible range of services to improve access to mental health support and increase uptake.

Avoiding exclusion and suspension

Across the city’s schools, work is taking place to prevent exclusions and suspensions and to keep all young people in the most suitable educational environment. Exclusions and suspensions impact academic achievements and put pupils at greater risk of exploitation.

Patcham High School has had notable success with this approach. In fact, the school has not excluded a single pupil in more than 5 years.