WAMHS
WAMHS
Here, you will find information about home learning – any information about individual classes can be found under the ‘Children’ tab.
What is WAMHS?
The Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools (WAMHS) project is an initiative led by the CAMHS Alliance with the support of the Children and Young People’s Integrated Commissioning work stream in City & Hackney.
This innovative service aims to improve mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people in schools, colleges, specialist and alternative provision education settings in City & Hackney.
The WAMHS project started with a one year pilot phase in September 2018 and was initially piloted for 15 months in 50% of state maintained schools in City & Hackney (39 schools participated in the pilot phase).
The impact of the pilot phase was evaluated by Public Health City and Hackney, and the results of the evaluation were used to support extending the offer to remaining eligible schools in both boroughs.
In September 2019 the Universal WAMHS Offer was approved by the commissioning board and a further 30 schools became part of the WAMHS project. From April 2020 there are 69 schools out of the total 80 in City & Hackney who will be part of the WAMHS project
A Welcome From Our Wellbeing Worker
Hi St Matthias parents! My name is Emma Sinclair and I am the wellbeing clinician based at St Matthias two days a month (every other Thursday). I am part of the WAMHS project which is aimed at supporting the wellbeing of children and families at St Matthias. This is a project which has been rolled out across all Hackney schools and has been very successful so far. Please see here for more information about the project.
Should you wish to get in touch with me, please email me on: wamhs@st-matthias.hackney.sch.uk
Some Common Questions:
Q) What is wellbeing?
A) ‘Wellbeing’ is the quality of our lives. It is affected by both practical factors such as income, education, and housing. It is also affected by subjective factors such as happiness and life satisfaction. Our physical health can impact our wellbeing and emotional wellbeing is also an important factor; this can be defined as ‘being confident and positive and able to cope with the ups and downs of life’.
Q) Why is wellbeing important?
A) ‘Good’ wellbeing is linked to a huge range of positive outcomes for children including: higher educational achievement, increased confidence and self-esteem, better resilience and ability to cope with life’s challenges, better future job prospects and many more.
Q) What do you do at St Matthias?
A) My role involves a range of things. I offer training to teaching staff on particular topics (e.g. how to support children who have experienced bereavement) and support to teaching staff to help children who may be having a difficult time in school. I frequently meet with parents who wish to talk through any concerns they have about their children’s wellbeing and if they would like me to do so, I can discuss accessing further support from a range of services such as Young Hackney, where children can attend different clubs and classes, work with a mentor and focus on building their confidence and having fun!
I also run parent coffee mornings every other week with Ms Durcan. This is an opportunity for parents to come together and discuss their children and anything affecting them. We have focussed on topics such as supporting children during covid and managing tricky behaviour at home. St Matthias has such a wonderful parent community; we believe it is important to provide a space for parents to connect and support each other as much as possible.
Resources for Parents:
This website is full of great resources for parents ranging from information on sleep, additional needs, and children’s behaviour. They also have a free and confidential live chat function with a parenting coach.
This service is an online platform which provides free, safe and anonymous online counselling and support to children and young people age 11-18.
Scope is a charity with lots of resources for parents of children with additional needs. They also offer a free ‘sleep service’ which is an online intervention for parents of children with additional needs with sleep difficulties.
The National Autistic Society is a charity which provides lots of support, guidance and advice for families with children with autism.
The YBMen Project is an educational and social support program for young Black men. This culturally-sensitive, age-appropriate, and gender-specific program provides wellbeing education and social support to young Black men.
Additional Various Services Offering Support in Hackney
There are a range of services in Hackney aimed at ensuring all families receive the relevant and most appropriate support. Please click the link above for more information. Should you wish to discuss any support for your child or family, please get in touch.