Mental Health: Mapping National & Local Provision and Defining the Role of the School

A parent rings about a bereavement, or a pupil tells you something serious. That isn't the moment to start searching online for a local service.

A provision map puts it all in one place. First comes what you offer in school: a named person parents can contact, staff trained in approaches like Lego therapy or drawing and talking, quiet spaces at lunch. Then come the national and local services beyond it, sorted by need and from low to high intensity. You'll learn which directories to start from, and how school nurses and mental health support teams can fill in what you don't know.

A map is only useful if it stays accurate, so you'll also decide who keeps it up to date. You'll plan around the things that stop people taking up help, from stigma to one bus a week, and ask pupils and parents where they'd actually go.