Mental health & neurodiversity School mental health Children and young people’s mental health is under increasing pressure, with around one in five school-aged children experiencing a diagnosable mental health condition. Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) were introduced nationally to address this, but schools lacked consistent, evidence-based guidance for embedding a whole-school and college approach (WSCA) to wellbeing – a recognised key factor in effective and sustainable support. Whole school and college approach (WSCA) A whole school and college approach to mental health and wellbeing is a co-ordinated approach across an educational setting to promote emotional wellbeing, identify emotional and mental health difficulties at an early stage, and provide support to those who need it. A range of programmes supporting a Whole School and College Approach (WSCA) have been developed and implemented on a national scale. This includes a best practice review, comprehensive training resources, national policy briefings, and a digital toolkit designed to measure the impact of WSCA strategies on key outcomes and implementation. Led by Health Innovation KSS in collaboration with key stakeholders including NHS England, University of Sussex, NIHR ARC KSS, West Sussex County Council, Charlie Waller Trust, Sussex Partnership Foundation NHS Trust, NHS England and the Department for Education this work has demonstrated meaningful and measurable impact across educational settings. Find out more Resources WSCA toolkit Allowing educational settings to reflect regularly on the implementation of their WSCA work and track its impact on key outcomes. Link Best Practice Review of Whole School Approach (WSA) within MHSTs in the South-East and East of England Evaluation report Link Best Practice Review of Whole School Approach (WSA) within MHSTs in the South-East and East of England Summary presentation Link News and case studies Sussex Youth Summit 2023 The 2023 Sussex Youth Summit brought together representatives from across the sector to further progress plans for improving community-based emotional wellbeing and mental health services and support for people aged 16 to 25. News 25 Sep 2023 More CYP Digital Mental Health – training programme Health Innovation KSS and Unity Insights have developed a new Digital Mental Health Communications Training Programme. Case Study 1 Jan 2022 More Innovative digital programme shows real-world impact in treating binge eating in the NHS Digital CBTe, the digital version of Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT-E), has shown clinical benefits in reducing binge eating episodes and impact on people’s lives Case Study 9 Jun 2025 More Sussex partners join forces to improve young people’s mental health Around 90 people from in and around Sussex came together at an event held on 16 June to pledge their support and help develop ambitions around community-based emotional wellbeing and mental health youth interventions for 16-25 year olds. News 21 Jun 2022 More Whole School and College Approach The Whole School and College Approach (WSCA) Measurement Toolkit help schools and colleges measure and self-assess the impact of their whole school and college approach to emotional wellbeing and mental health. News 1 Jan 2022 More Surrey Children and Young People’s Innovation Roadshow Surrey Children and Young People's Innovation roadshow, exploring the newest tech around healthcare for this group. News 28 Nov 2022 More ← → Contact us If you’d like to find out more about any of our children and young people’s mental health programmes, get in touch. Get in touch