Therapeutic Service for Children and Young People in Medway

1. Therapeutic Service for Children and Young People in Medway

2. Medway recognises that many young people who attended secondary school have emotional and social issues outside of school that present as difficult behaviour within school Why the need?

3. Some of these children may be excluded from school and consequently have a disrupted school experience Some of those excluded children may go on to have a ‘disrupted life’ Why the need?

4. Onside began as a partnership between Medway Council and The Peter DeHaan Trust Its purpose is to provide a therapeutic intervention that is intended to support young people with high emotional needs to remain in school and achieve their full academic potential In the Beginning

5. To provide a therapeutic service for vulnerable young people in Medway where a range of therapeutic interventions might be provided To provide a psychological safe place for young people To provide a place of safety for young people experiencing mental health issues or social difficulties The Vision

6. To provide a holistic therapeutic team at Silverbank Park; which supports the most vulnerable young people within the educational system in Medway. To support and enable schools to develop their own in-house therapeutic teams so that young people can remain in mainstream schools and enjoy and achieve. The Aim

7. The Service Onside has developed a ‘wrap-around’ Support system which provides the following interventions: Counselling Psychotherapy Reflexology Play Therapy Therapeutic Garden Drama Therapy Art Therapy

8. The Service Onside aims to be an early intervention opportunity that will recognise, address and prevent emotional issues from developing further. Onside does not have a threshold – a young person who attends a Medway school and wants to engage with the service can.

9. Assessment is ‘swift’. We aim to offer an assessment session within 1 working week and sooner in an emergency We are able to provide extra capacity by offering ‘training placements’ through partnerships with local therapeutic training programmes The Service

10. The Service • Staff engage with the young person at their own level, allowing them to access support that is meaningful for them, and that allows them to make a difference to their lives. • Parents can also access Onside.

11. Onside is providing therapeutic support to 10 primary schools through the TaMHS Project TaMHS provides Individual and Group Therapy This provision has been made possible because of 2 year government funding (ends July 2011) TaMHS

12. Further provision Onside can act as a clinical consultancy to schools, providing: • Clinical support and management to enable clinical staff to be incorporated into schools structures • Training opportunities • Guidance on setting up an in school counselling service to ensure Medway schools build a consistent approach to therapeutic services

13. Family therapy? Ongoing provision to primary schools when the TaMHS funding ceases? Monitoring and evaluating efficacy of therapy in Medway Schools? The Future

14. Any Questions?

15. Keith Potter The Elms Silverbank Park Silverbank, Churchill Avenue Chatham, ME5 0LB Tel: 01634 338802 Email: pottk017@medway.org.uk Further Information