Place 2 Be

Contents

About Place2Be

Meet the Place2Be Team

How We Work

Where Can You Find Us?

Menu of Services

Mental Health Support Directory

Videos for Wellbeing

Children's Mental Health Week 2023

Place2Talk Privacy Policy 2023

About Place2Be

Place2Be works in schools to help children and young people explore their emotions and feel better about themselves.
Children and young people can go to the Place2Be room in their school to express themselves by making art, playing or talking. 
Why is Place2Be useful?
Sometimes children and young people can feel particularly sad, confused, scared or angry.
Maybe something difficult happened at home, like losing a family member or parents separating. Or perhaps they’re struggling with something at school, like bullying. 
This can make them behave differently, lose confidence in themselves or find it difficult to concentrate in class.
Place2Be is there to help children and young people find ways to cope, so their worries don’t get in the way of their friendships, their learning or how they feel about themselves.
79% of pupils with the highest level of need improve after getting help from Place2Be, according to parents and carers.
“When I feel worried, it’s like I’m in a maze and the people in Place2Be are coming with a torch and showing me the way.” 11-year-old boy

What does Place2Be do?

Each school with Place2Be on-site has a dedicated professional who oversees the service there. At Beechwood this is our School Project Manager, Emma Wilby.
Our team work with children and young people one-to-one or in small groups, giving regular support for pupils who need it.
Children and young people can also book a short appointment to talk about any problems or worries they have – we call this Place2Talk.
Place2Talk is one of the most popular aspects of the Place2Be service and is open to all KS2 children at Beechwood Primary School. Using a small post-box onsite, they can make an appointment to spend 15 minutes with a trained counsellor, either by themselves or with a friend. 
On average, about a third of children and young people in Place2Be schools take advantage of this service every year. 
 

How does Place2Be work with families?

We always seek agreement from parents or carers before we support a child or young person under 16.
When a child or young person has one-to-one counselling, we meet with their parents or carers regularly to keep them updated and make sure they are involved from the start.
Primary schools supported by Place2Be also have access to a Family Practitioner to provide dedicated advice and support for parents and carers. The family practitioner at Beechwood is Debbie Edwards (link to bio).

How does Place2Be work with school staff?

Place2Be also works with teachers and school staff to help them understand and support emotional well-being across the school. This could involve assemblies for children about dealing with difficult feelings or training for staff about responding to bullying.
 

Any questions?

If you have any questions about Place2Be, please feel free to talk to Emma – she’ll be happy to help.
If you want to find out more general information about Place2Be please visit place2be.org.uk. 
 

Support in a crisis

Place2Be works in partnership with Shout - a 24/7 text messaging service to support anyone in crisis, anytime, anywhere. Text CONNECT to 85258.
Please see our Mental Health Support Directory section for more links.

Meet the Place2Be Team

School Project Manager

Welcome to the Place2Be page on the Beechwood Primary School website. My name is Emma Wilby and I am the School Project manager for Place2Be. 
I am a registered Arts Psychotherapist, specialising in Dramatherapy with a Music Therapy influence. I have experience working in lots of different types of schools including a local secondary school here in Seacroft, a private prep school, and with young offenders. 
My main role is to be the link between the charity and the school, maintaining the relationship between the Place2Be team and the staff and students here at Beechwood. I am fully based within the school and am an active member of the school community. 
During my workday, I supervise the team of Place2Be counsellors who visit Beechwood to offer one-to-one counselling. I also conduct all assessments at the referral level, run our pupil drop-in service (Place2Talk), offer a staff service (Place2Think) and hold Parent Partnerships.
My office is tucked inside the nursery where I can be reached on Mondays and Tuesdays all day and Friday mornings. Feel free to pop in, in person, for a cuppa and a chat. Alternatively, you can call 07977140400, 0113 2930250 (ext:233) or email:emma.wilby@place2be.org.uk

Family Practitioner

Hello, I’m Debbie. I am the Family Practitioner for Place2Be and deliver Place2Be’s parent offers to support families in our schools across Yorkshire. This includes our one-to-one parenting offer PIPT and supporting parents on our online parenting course.

Counsellors

Eleanor Mckone	Marva Bell	Selena Monaghan	Chico Vemmer

How We Work

We use an effective therapeutic approach backed by research that combines several ways of working. This integrative support for children brings together different strands of therapeutic thinking to support the development of each pupil.
Our work is guided by three core principles:
•    Building relationships – in the Place2Be room (a therapeutic relationship based on trust) and outside (positive relationships with others)
•    Developing self-awareness – for our mental health professionals (so they can provide effective support) and the children (to help them manage their emotions)
•    Encouraging play – as a ‘language’ for children and adults that allows them to explore feelings and learn new things.
Evidence shows that our work makes a real difference to children’s lives. You can read about our statistics and evidence by following this link to our webpage.
Safe and ethical practice is a priority for Place2Be: All our mental health professionals are trained in safeguarding processes and procedures. We are an organisational member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and abide by their Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.

Where Can You Find Us?

Place2Be has two dedicated rooms in the school:
•   The therapy space can be found in the main school building. A  light and spacious room to provide a safe and confidential space for children to come and express themselves. We have all sorts of tools to encourage this, including art materials, a sand tray, small-world play, instruments, puppets, and cosy beanbags. 
•    The School Project Manager’s office is tucked inside the nursery where Emma can be reached on Mondays and Tuesdays all day and Friday mornings. Feel free to pop in, in person, for a cuppa and a chat. Alternatively, you can call 07977140400, 0113 2930250 (ext:233) or email: emma.wilby@place2be.org.uk

Menu of Services

We offer a menu of different services, including advice and support for families and school staff, to build resilience and raise awareness of mental health across the whole school community. 
The services we offer include:
•    One-to-one counselling for pupils who are struggling
•    Short appointments to talk about worries, booked by pupils
•    Group work about friendship, self-esteem and other issues
•    Training for school leaders and staff to make schools more mentally healthy
•    Consultations for school staff about behaviour and wellbeing
•    Advice and support for parents to help them look after their child
•    Group programme using art and discussion to build pupils’ self-esteem.
 

Parental Support

•    Parenting smart app – Can be downloaded from the app store or viewed on your web browser. It features parenting advice from our child mental health experts with practical tips to support children’s well-being and behaviour.

•     Parent partnership – Parent partnerships are a one-off, or short series of meetings with the School Project Manager to support particular concerns around a child, discuss the Place2Be service, or offer advice and signposting around certain issues. 

•    Family practitioner/PIPT – Parents are able to access a Family Practitioner to provide dedicated advice and support for parents and carers in primary schools. Our FP also runs a programme called PIPT, which includes time in the Place2Be room with your child to explore the relationship, develop healthy boundaries, reflect and plan for the future. 

•    Online course - Parents and Carers of 4-11 year-olds can now access our free online course providing you with extra tools to deal with everyday parenting challenges. Please see the flyer below: 
 

Mental Health Support Directory

For all people over 18

Parenting

Please also access your GP, Social Care, Police, 111 or 999, CAHMS and CMHT as usual. 

Children's Mental Health Week 2023

Place2Be launched the first-ever Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015 to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.  

Now in its ninth year, its aim is to encourage people to get involved, spread the word, and raise vital funds for children’s mental health. Each year has a different theme and this year the theme is Let’s Connect.  

Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our well-being. When we have healthy connections – to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of well-being.

For more information about the week, free resources and a spotlight on celebrity and local engagement please visit:

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/