Resources
All of these resources are available to download for free using the links below.
This section lists various resources which I have developed over the last few years. With primarily working in educational settings most of the information is aimed at schools and colleges. However, there are also resources which focus on supporting children and young people directly, as well as providing advice for their parents and carers.
Resources for Secondary Schools and Colleges
The following resources are aimed specifically for schools and colleges and a short description of each is provided:
Mental Health Support Directory for Children and Young People - This directory lists various sources of mental health support available for children and young people, including websites, apps and telephone numbers.
A Mental Health Model for Schools and Colleges - This model acts as a guide for schools and colleges on how they can use a whole-school approach in supporting the mental health of both its students and staff.
A Mental Health Model for Pupil Referral Units - This model is very similar to the one developed for mainstream schools, however there are slight amendments in line with working in PRU’s.
Mental Health Tip Sheet for School Staff - This leaflet provides information to school staff on how they can promote positive mental health and provide support to students when they are struggling.
A Guide for Staff Teaching Able, Gifted and Talented (AGT) Students - This is a short leaflet which was developed with the help of several AGT students. Based on recommendations made by them, it acts as a support guide for staff teaching these students especially during exam periods.
10 Steps to Positive Mental Health - This can be used by schools to promote positive mental health in staff and students. Some schools have included this tool in student’s planners to encourage them to follow these steps to maintain positive emotional wellbeing.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Audit - This is an example audit which I developed that can be used to explore the mental health provision available in schools and colleges.
Interactive Resilience Framework - This is a useful resource aimed at school staff. It provides guidance on how to build resilience in young people and is interactive, allowing you to clink on each of the links to find out further information in the area of interest.
PHSE Guidance - This guidance is aimed at secondary school staff to help build confidence and support them when teaching students about mental health and wellbeing during PHSE lessons, ensuring it is carried out safely and sensitively.
Self-Harm Conversation Prompts - This resource is for school staff and aims to guide them in having those difficult conversations with students about self-harming behaviour. If staff feel confident talking about self-harm then students may feel more able to speak out.
Having a Conversation - This is a general resource aimed at anyone wanting to feel more confident in having a conversation with someone about their mental health.
Teaching Resources Information Sheet - This is a list of useful resources to support children and young people's mental health for school staff.
Resources for CYPMH - This is a general list of resources to support children and young people's mental health, aimed at parents, carers and young people themselves.
CLPS - My Coping Skills Card - This is a brief resource for young people to remind them of several coping strategies they could use when they are struggling to cope
School Staff Self-Harm Resource - This guide is aimed at school staff to help them further understand what self-harm is, how to identify self-harming behaviour in young people, along with how best to support a young people and signpost to further support.
Self-care - The important thing with self-care is not what it looks like, but what it does for you and how it makes you feel. When it comes to self-care it's not one thing, it's your thing.
Creating a self-care plan - For young people in secondary schools and college
Primary School Resources
The following resources are aimed specifically for younger children of primary school age.
Resilience Framework for Primary Schools - This framework acts as a useful guide on how we can build resilience in primary school aged children. It has been adapted from the interactive resilience framework.
Mental Health Model for Primary Schools - this model acts as a guide on how primary schools can support children’s mental health and wellbeing.
I would recommend all primary schools purchasing it, as well as any parent or carer who has young children. The author Chris Duke is happy for me to share the link to his book on my website so please find it here.
Also, there are resources young people can access which go alongside reading this book and these can found on the following link: here.
COVID support for KS2 - This is a guide aimed at helping KS2 children cope with the situation faced by the coronavirus.
COVID support for KS1 - This guide is to help KS1 children cope with the coronavirus situation.
Anxiety Thermometer - A useful resource to help children recognise what feelings they are experiencing in any given moment.
Top Tips to Improve Self-Esteem - Brief information sheet for parents and carers on how they can promote self-esteem in their children.
A Resilience Toolkit for Age 10 Years+ - This is a detailed resource aimed at professionals, as well as parents and carers. It describes how to build resilience in young people and outlines lots of different activities on how to do this.
Resilience Ladder - A useful resource for parents and carers, along with professionals and children themselves. It is designed to help children identify a goal they would like to achieve and break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
Superhero Me - This is for teachers, parents, or carers to help their children focus on the positives and how they view themselves.
Tools for Managing Emotions - This resource outlines different tools to help younger children manage their emotions.
My Wellbeing Journal - An excellent resource for younger children which discusses feelings, emotions and how to manage them. This is in addition to building self-esteem and helping them to learn more about themselves.
Reframing Negative Thoughts - This resource is aimed at primary aged children and helps them to recognise their negative thoughts, training their brains to respond in a different way.
Anxiety Resource For Young People - This resource is great for primary aged children and helps them to not only understand what anxiety is, but also learn ways to manage it and face their fears.
3-7 years Balloon and Teddy Breathing
Mindfulness Resources Explanation
Resources for Children and Young People
Anger Management Booklet for Children and Young People - This booklet can be given to young people to work through at their own pace or alternatively it can be completed collaboratively with the support of a member of staff.
Weekly Mood Chart - This chart allows school staff to encourage a student to monitor their own moods, reflecting on things that have gone well and on ways they can help themselves if they are struggling.
Get Self Help CBT booklet - This is a self-help course using cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and outlines techniques which can be useful to all. However, it should not ace as a replacement for professional help.
Coping with Coronavirus - This resource is aimed at secondary school students to help them cope with the current situation with the coronavirus and with schools being closed.
The Little Book of Mindfulness - This has been written by Medibank is a magazine style guide to using Mindfulness to help with stress and worries.
Issues with Self-Esteem? - This is a self-help guide for young people to help them cope with low self-esteem. It was created by a wellbeing service in Glasgow.
Adults Mindfulness Colouring Book - This is an adult mindfulness colouring book with many intricate designs developed by Between Sessions.
Children’s Mindfulness Colouring Book - This is for young people and provides a creative distraction from stress.
Do you Worry about Going to School? - Sussex Council developed this booklet to give advice to young people who are feeling anxious about going to school.
Questions about Mental Health? - This is a toolkit developed by young people with Rethink about mental illness and how to look after our mental health.
How to Cope When Life is Difficult - This was written by the Royal College of Psychiatrists to help people cope with life stresses.
Health Anxiety - This is a self-help guide to manage health anxiety. This is one of several self-help guides by the Northumberland NHS Trust.
CYP self-harm resource - Self-harm | Signs of Self-harm And Getting Help | YoungMinds.
Health Anxiety - This is a self-help guide to manage health anxiety. This is one of several self-help guides by the Northumberland NHS Trust.
Breathing techniques - When we feel anxious, upset or distressed, it can be difficult to know what to do to feel better. By using these breathing techniques, we can reduce our anxiety and lower our blood pressure/heart rate. This helps us feel calmer and more focused and helps us to face our fears.
Low Mood Fact Sheet - Anyone can get Low Mood. It is the most common psychological problem. It varies from person to person and stressful or difficult things can trigger it or it can seemingly come out of nowhere. We all feel sad from time to time but usually the feeling passes. With Low Mood, these feelings of sadness just seem to go on and on and it's hard to see a way to feel happy again.
Stress Fact Sheet - Stress is a normal emotion that everyone will feel at some point in their lives. It can sometimes be useful to enhance our performance but it can become a problem when it interferes with our everyday life. For example, it might start to negatively impact our social life, academic performance and mood. This is when we might need some extra help.
Loneliness - A Guide for Pupils
Young Minds
Young Minds are partners with Mentally Healthy Schools, underneath is a link to their website full of resources for primary school teachers.
Mentally Healthy Schools - Brings together quality-assured information, advice and resources to help schools understand and promote children's mental health and well-being (external resource from Young Minds).
Building supportive relationships with young people - This resource provides tips and advice for building positive relationships where mental well-being can thrive.
How to have a conversation with young people about mental health - Here are tips for professionals on how to have a conversation with young people about mental health, and how they can respond when a young person opens up to them.
Characteristics of someone to turn to when talking about mental health - These resources provide information and practical tools on becoming a trusted adult that young people can turn to.
10 things I wish school had done to help me with my mental health - They share ten things they wish school had done to support their mental health.
School anxiety and refusal - It provides advice on supporting your child and working with the school and other services.
Bullying - They state ways parents can support children and places they can get help.
A link to A Parents' A-Z Mental Health Guide - Young Minds (This guide provides advice to parents on how to help their child with their feelings and behaviour, as well as mental health conditions and life events)
A link to a variety of training courses for 2024 - Young Minds (Online and face-to-face)
A Beginner’s Guide for Schools - Having a conversation with parents and carers about mental health.
Mood diary - Our mood diary is a practical way to keep track of how you’re feeling each day.
EBSA - Emotionally based school avoidance guidance.
Tips for addressing EBSA:
- Bear in mind that absences might not be caused by young people wanting to avoid school, but rather them not wanting to leave home. For example, could they be worried about a parent or sibling at home?
- Make an individualised, flexible plan with the pupil and parents to gradually increase school attendance, with the support of an Education Attendance Officer.
- Identify patterns in absences. For example, is it every Thursday morning when swimming is on?
- Remind school staff to reassure parents on how their child is managing in school when they attend.
- Meet anxious pupils at the school gate and set up regular check-ins throughout the day/week.
Taking a whole school approach to wellbeing - When supporting the wellbeing of others, it is easy to forget your own. Most levels of anxiety are normal, but during another very abnormal year, it may have become too much and unmanageable at times.
The tangled ball - This simple activity can help pupils to express and identify their feelings.
Wellbeing Bingo - Have a go at playing our wellbeing bingo and see if you can find people to play with you or try it later with your friends and/or family.
10 wellbeing tips for school staff - Everyone takes different approach to wellbeing and there is no one size fit all, but sometimes it's the little changes to your routine that make all the difference and help you look after yourself.
What makes an adult someone to turn to about your mental health?
Why a hole School Approach is Important - At YoungMinds, we believe that a whole school approach is essential in building a resilient community.
Parents and Carers
Listed below are two resources aimed specifically at parents and carers. One is information about how parents and carers can support their children’s mental health and the other document focuses on the importance of parental self-care.
Information for Parents and Carers - This leaflet provides information to parents and carers on how they can support their children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Parental Self-Care - This information leaflet is aimed specifically at parents and carers. It offers advice on the importance of practising self-care and outlines different ways parents and carers can maintain positive emotional wellbeing.
Anxiety in Children and Young People - This is a guide developed for parents and carers on helping them understand anxiety in their children. It was written by Anxiety UK.
Anxiety Resource for Parents - This is a brief resource for parents and carers of younger children and outlines how they can support their child with anxiety.
Parent Self-Harm Resource - This a resource aimed at parents and carers, aiming to help them understand more about self-harm as well as how to support their child.
Understanding Autism - Many parents and carers of children who are showing early signs and symptoms of autism often wonder what are the causes, how it can be diagnosed at an early age, and what sort of help is available.
ADHD e-book - Many parents and carers of children who are showing early signs and symptoms of ADHD often wonder what are the causes, how it can be diagnosed at an early age, and what sort of help is available.
Loneliness Guide for Parents and Caregivers
Further resources
Further resources for schools, families, children and young people can be found on the following websites:
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
- Young Minds
- Build Sound Minds
- Youth Access
- The Mix
- Social Media Addiction
- How to Become a Psychologist
- Barnardo's - Mental health services for children and young people
- Find a children and family wellbeing service
- Wellbeing Helpline and Texting Service
- Students against depression - Provides psychoeducation on the difficulty they are experiencing, e.g. anxiety and provide advice on what they can do to help reduce the difficulty
- MindEd - free educational resource on children, young people, adults and older people's mental health
- Every Mind Matters
- Snap - Offers educational professional free access to info, resources and training for meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities.
- The Loneliness Project - A space for individuals to write their stories regarding feeling lonely
- Education against hate
- Childhood Bereavement Network - Provides resources for families, schools, and children to support with bereavement
- Papyrus
- Free suicide awareness training for educators
- UK trauma Council
- Frank - Support regarding drug abuse
Mindfulness Learning from Home Pack
Things I can do when I need to Calm Down
Positive and Negative Thinking
Self-care is important regardless of age. However, young people often state that they when they are struggling with their mental health they are often told to see a professional, with little advice given on how they can help themselves. Research with young people in this area has resulted in numerous self-care strategies being suggested by young people themselves. Follow this link for ideas on different self-care strategies:
Sleep
Balanced sleep is really important for good mental health but it can also be a really useful self-care tool for when you just need a break and to get away from your thoughts and situation for a bit.
Being afraid is not the same as being in danger
Contact me for a free phone consultation to discuss how I can help you and the mental health support you require.
- 07734 650 859 -
Crisis Support
SHOUT - the UK’s first 24/7 free text-based service for anyone struggling to cope and in need of immediate help. Text 85258
Childline - free and confidential advice for young people in the UK telephone 0800 1111
Papyrus Hopeline UK - for confidential suicide prevention advice telephone 0800 068 4141
Samaritans - is a free confidential support line for anyone in crisis no matter the age of the person. You can either telephone 116 123 or an email service is available.
CALM - Helpline for people in the UK who are down or who have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support 0800 585 858
HOPELINEUK - Confidential support and advice service for Children and Young People under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide or for anyone concerned about someone else’s safety 0800 068 41 41
The Mix - Information, support and listening for people under 25 0808 808 4994