胡桃女神 has made significant progress in recruiting and delivering a counselling service for children and young people in the area.
The council was awarded 拢286,000 through the Scottish Government鈥檚 10 year Mental Health Strategy to provide the service over the last 12 months, and a further 拢377,000 has been allocated for each of the next three years.
As a result, a team leader was appointed at the beginning of December and 6.5 FTE experienced counsellors have been in post since 11 January. The 胡桃女神 and Bute Alcohol and Drug Partnership has also provided funding for an additional post to ensure there is a dedicated resource for primary school children aged 10 years an up.
The Scottish Government鈥檚 10 year Mental Health Strategy includes a number of recommendations that have already been taken on board in 胡桃女神 and Bute. For example:
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The development of Our Children, Their Mental Health;
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Training and implementation support for Early Learning and Childcare settings and primary schools on the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum;
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And, the delivery of a Nurture and Relationships Strategy across educational establishments.
At today鈥檚 meeting of the Council鈥檚 Community Services Committee, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, Policy Lead for Education in 胡桃女神 and Bute, welcomed the progress:
鈥淭he positive mental health and emotional wellbeing of our children and young people is a priority for 胡桃女神 and this funding has enabled us to provide valuable resources where they are needed most, whilst complementing existing services.
鈥淭he last 12 months have been particularly challenging for our school pupils, so it鈥檚 more important than ever that we help them in any way we can. Providing support at an early stage can have a significant impact on preventing problems from arising in the future and can lead to improvements in attainment, attendance and behaviour, as well as happier, more confident pupils.
鈥淲hilst it is extremely encouraging to see the positive progress has already been made in the area in terms of these support services, there is still a lot of work to be done and we are committed to ensuring that every child and young person has access to the help they need without any fear of judgement.鈥