We monitor and evaluate the impact of our support by collating data provided to us by the provider, school staff and (where appropriate) the young people benefitting from the intervention.
Trauma and Mental Health training
In Leicester, a SEMH secondary school saw a sharp rise in children experiencing self-harm, anxiety and depression. With Beyond’s help, two staff members secured their Diplomas in Trauma and Mental Health-Informed Schools and Communities, so that they could respond effectively to the children who were vulnerable.
Funding school bereavement support
Beyond’s support provided a school counsellor in north London to support an increase in mental health distress due to a school bereavement.
Animal-assisted therapy
A primary school in Essex saw a huge increase in children displaying anxiety since returning to school after lockdown. We enabled animal-assisted therapy for eight of their children. The school reported that their children really benefited from the sessions and they received incredibly positive feedback from the parents, one saying that: “I’m over the moon with how you have helped my daughter through her difficult times… your two dogs that my daughter sees help her so much.”
Additional counsellor
Beyond enabled a primary school in Solihull to bring in an additional school counsellor to support a rise in anxiety and self-harm amongst their pupils. The additional counsellor was able to significantly reduce the waiting list for counselling within the school.
Dramatherapy
A primary school in east London requested dramatherapy for pupils who needed a safe space to deal with trauma and domestic violence which had become heightened during the pandemic. They quickly saw a profound change in the mental health of their students. The school noticed a huge change in one boy in particular who had regularly moved between refuges and faced the trauma of domestic violence, noting that “from an angry and unhappy child, the transformation has been miraculous.”
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
A primary school in Merseyside needed a therapist specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to support several children who had suffered traumatic bereavements during the pandemic. The school reported significant improvements in the wellbeing of pupils seen by the therapist.
Counselling and therapy support
A primary school in Wirral were struggling to cope with an increase in children suffering at school and at home due to mental health issues. Beyond enabled support from a counselling therapist.
Youth Mental Health training
A secondary school in west London received Youth Mental Health First Aid training for its older pupils, so that they could in turn provide mental health support to the younger members of the school. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive from all students who took part in the training, and the school said that the support “was a real lifesaver as it paved the way to ensuring every young person in the school would have someone to talk to, if, and when they needed to.”