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Wellbeing and Emotional Support Teams in Schools (WEST)

  • The Wellbeing and Emotional Support Teams (WEST) in schools service is designed to help children and young people ages 5-18 years access mental health and wellbeing support early on in educational settings.

    It's all about ensuring children and young people can get access to the right help as early as possible.

About our service

Our mission...

"An early intervention service integrated in education settings to promote children and young people’s emotional wellbeing, keeping the child’s voice at the heart"

There are lots of different clinicians and support staff who work in the team who have different expertise, but all work well together. In the team there are:

  • Education mental health practitioners
  • Senior practitioners
  • Clinical leads
  • Operational leads
  • Service manager
  • Support staff

Types of support offered

The team offer short term support delivered by education mental health practitioners (EMHPs) and senior practitioners, using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) methods to help with low mood, wellbeing, anxiety and behavioural difficulties. 

CBT is a type of talking therapy that helps people learn handy and effective ways to manage their issues.

These interventions will be delivered either face to face or virtually through 1:1 sessions. Group sessions are also available for children, young people, and their families, or for school staff or parents where a specific topic might be suitable for them only.

EMHPs in schools may hold larger assemblies where they may talk about things like resilience and wellbeing so it can benefit all pupils/students.

Teams will work in partnership in schools, as an additional resource to their existing mental health support, using a whole-system approach to promote resilience and wellbeing, enable earlier intervention, provide appropriate signposting and deliver evidence-based care and interventions. This will help the school to reflect on its current wellbeing mechanisms, highlighting areas which may require action to improve help for all staff, pupils and families.

Referral to other support services

Where more specialist help is required we can refer the young person to another service who can provide the right kind of support they need, and we will continue to work closely with the service throughout their treatment.

Schools we visit

The teams works across a selected number of primary, middle and secondary schools, sixth forms and colleges in Herefordshire and Worcestershire listed below:

Wyre Forest

  • Baxter College
  • Bewdley High School
  • Birchen Coppice Primary Academy
  • Comberton Primary School
  • Cookley Sebright Primary School
  • Foley Park Primary Academy & Nursery
  • Franche Community Primary School
  • Haybridge High School & Sixth Form
  • Heronswood Primary School
  • Holy Trinity School
  • Kidderminster College
  • King Charles I School & Sixth Form Centre
  • Lickhill Primary School
  • Offmore Primary School
  • St Ambrose Catholic Primary School
  • St Bartholomew's CofE VC Primary School
  • St Catherine's CE Primary School
  • St George's CE Primary School
  • St John's CE Primary School
  • St Mary's CE Primary School
  • St Oswald's CE Primary School
  • Stourport Primary Academy
  • Sutton Park Primary RSA Academy
  • Wolverley CE Secondary School
  • Wolverley Sebright Primary Academy

Redditch/Bromsgrove

  • Arrow Vale RSA Academy
  • Arrow Valley First School
  • Batchley First and Nursery School
  • Birchensale Middle School
  • Catshill First School & Nursery
  • Catshill Middle School
  • Church Hill Middle School RSA Academy
  • Crabbs Cross Academy
  • Heart of Worcestershire College — Redditch
  • Heart of Worcestershire College — Bromsgrove
  • Holyoakes Field First School
  • Ipsley CE RSA Academy
  • Matchborough First School Academy
  • Moons Moat First School
  • North Bromsgrove High School
  • Ridgeway Academy
  • South Bromsgrove High School
  • St Augustine's Catholic High School
  • St Bede's Catholic Middle School Academy
  • St Peter's Catholic First School Academy
  • St Stephen's CofE RSA Academy
  • St Thomas More Catholic First School
  • Trinity High School & Sixth Form Centre
  • Tudor Grange Academy, Redditch
  • Walkwood CE Middle School
  • Waseley Hills High School
  • Woodfield Academy
  • Woodrow First School
  • Woodrush High School

Herefordshire

  • Aylestone School
  • Barrs Court School
  • Blackmarston School 
  • Brampton Abbotts CofE Primary School 
  • Bridstow CofE Primary School
  • Broadlands Primary School
  • Earl Mortimer College & Sixth Form Centre
  • Fairfield High School
  • Goodrich CofE Primary School
  • Hereford Sixth form College
  • Herefordshire and Ludlow College
  • Hereford College of Art
  • Herefordshire Pupil Referral Unit
  • John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form Centre
  • John Masefield High School
  • Kingstone & Thruxton Primary School 
  • Kingstone High School
  • Kington Primary School 
  • Lady Hawkins' School
  • Lea CofE Primary School 
  • Leominster Primary School 
  • Lord Scudmore 
  • Luston Primary School
  • Marlbrook Primary School 
  • Queen Elizabeth High School
  • Riverside Primary School 
  • St Francis Xavier's Primary School
  • St Martin's Primary School 
  • St Mary's RC High School
  • St Peter's Primary School 
  • St Thomas Cantilupe CofE Primary School
  • Steiner Academy Hereford
  • Stoke Prior Primary School
  • The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School
  • The Brookfield School
  • The Hereford Academy
  • Weobley High School
  • Weobley Primary School HR4 8ST
  • Whitecross High School and Specialist Sports College
  • Wigmore High School
  • Withington Primary School

South Worcestershire

  • Bishop Perowne CoE College
  • Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College
  • Carnforth School
  • Chawson Community First School
  • Cherry Orchard Primary School
  • Cranham Primary School
  • Cutnall Green CE Primary School
  • Christopher Whitehead Language College
  • Dines Green Community Academy
  • Droitwich Spa High School
  • Dyson Perrins CE Academy
  • Hanley Castle High School & Sixth Form Centre
  • Heart of Worcestershire College – Malvern
  • Heart of Worcestershire College – Worcester
  • Hollymount School
  • Nunnery Wood Primary School
  • Newbridge SEN School
  • Nunnery Wood High School
  • Oasis Academy Warndon
  • Ombersley Endowed First School
  • Perry Wood Primary & Nursery School
  • Perryfields PRU
  • Pershore High
  • Prince Henry's High School
  • Riversides SEN School
  • St Barnabas CE Primary School, Worcester
  • St George's Catholic Primary School, Worcester
  • St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Worcester
  • Stanley Road Primary School
  • Tenbury High Ormiston Academy
  • The Chantry School
  • The Chase
  • The De Montfort School
  • The Aspire Academy
  • Tudor Grange Primary Academy Perdiswell
  • Tudor Grange Academy
  • Westacre Middle School
  • Westlands First School
  • Witton Middle School
  • Worcester Sixth Form College
  • Wychbold First & Nursery School

Make a referral

If you are a student in year 12 or year 13 in any of the below schools within Herefordshire and Worcestershire and would like support from us, you can confidentially refer yourself using the following link: WEST self-referral

Herefordshire

  • John Kyrle Sixth Form
  • John Masefield Sixth Form
  • Hereford Sixth Form College
  • Herefordshire and Ludlow College
  • Hereford College of Art

Redditch & Bromsgrove

  • North Bromsgrove High School & Sixth Form
  • South Bromsgrove High School & Sixth Form
  • St Augustine’s Catholic High School & Sixth Form
  • Waseley High School & Sixth Form
  • Woodrush High School & Sixth Form
  • Arrow Vale RSA Academy & Sixth Form
  • Trinity High School & Sixth Form
  • Tudor Grange Academy & Sixth Form
  • Heart of Worcestershire College – Redditch
  • Heart of Worcestershire College – Bromsgrove    

South Worcestershire

  • The De Montfort School
  • The Chase Sixth Form
  • Pershore High School
  • Hanley Castle High School & Sixth Form Centre
  • Prince Henry’s High School
  • The Chantry School
  • Heart of Worcestershire College – Malvern
  • Heart of Worcestershire College – Worcester
  • Worcester Sixth Form College

Wyre Forest

  • Baxter College
  • Bewdley High School & Sixth Form
  • King Charles School & Sixth Form Centre
  • Wolverley CE Secondary School & Sixth Form
  • Stourport High School & VI form college
  • Haybridge High School & Sixth Form
  • Holy Trinity School and Sixth Form
  • Kidderminster College

Referrals into our service can also be made through the mental health lead within the specific education setting. The child or young person can also self-refer via the school staff, who will then discuss it with the Mental Health Lead.

Parents/carers can also refer to the service via the designated Mental Health Lead within the school.

Please note that we are an early intervention service and do not offer urgent services. If you are in a crisis or experience severe thoughts of harming self, you can find information about who to contact in emergency and available support.