These resources are to support the information that schools are providing for their pupils and are putting on the school website, particularly as children and young people need developmentally appropriate information and it’s hard to dismiss some of the worries and concerns they may have.
Family guidance
What is The Go-To?
The Go-To is a portal or ‘single point of information’, promoting mental health support services for children and young people within the North Yorkshire County Council boundary. With the amount of different services available in North Yorkshire, it can often be confusing to know what is what. The Go-To is designed to make things simple for you, having all the information you need in one place, so children and young people can get access to the right care they need. Find out more
Sign up for Kooth, Commissioned Online Counselling service 11-18 year olds - free online counselling for young people between the ages of 11-18. Kooth is still operating as usual for young people aged 11-18 to access free, online, anonymous support for qualified counsellors. There is a host of up to date information and self-help resources on the website that young people can access. Signpost to https://www.kooth.com/ . Email ehandford@xenzone.com for more information
Online radicalisation: Home Office Parent-Guardian Online Radicalisation Information and Support Covid 19 April 2020 document and the website https://www.ltai.info/staying-safe-online/ has been developed as a useful aid to provide inform ation and support parents/guardians, pertinent to the current pandemic restrictions.
Family Grab packs
These are not meant to be abbreviated posters, but grab packs for parents/carers, children or young people to help them work through particular topics. Many also have a therapeutic content to them and they have been written by Educational Psychologists working with primary mental health workers and wellbeing facilitators.
• ADHD – guidance for parents/carers on how best to educate a child/young person who has a diagnosis of ADHD or struggles generally with focus and attention.
• Adults working from home.
• Mindfulness (for anyone wanting to explore some exercises, promote wellbeing and manage symptoms of stress, anxiety etcetera.)
• Balancing anxiety (for anyone wanting to learn more about symptoms of anxiety and appropriate management strategies)
• Children – written for children (primary aged), includes strategies to look after own mood, mood journaling and also study skills ideas.
• Parents/carers – educating at home with tips on how to structure the learning day, promoting wellbeing etcetera.
• Sleep – for parents/carers (but could be used more generally) on the importance of a good sleep routine with tips on how to establish one.
• Study skills – written for young people to get the best out of their studies at home.
• Covid 19 – step by step guidance for parents/carers who want more detailed guidance on how to sit with their children and talk about the pandemic (progression from Government poster campaign).
• Young people and Wellbeing – written for young people (High School age plus)- with ideas on how to look after their own mental health and wellbeing, mood journals etcetera.
• Online resources – a resource pack for parents/carers with references for learning, wellbeing and more.
Support for staff in schools regarding emotional and mental wellbeing
World Health Organisation advice on healthy parenting
NHS guidance for parents with children and young people with SEND - issue 1
Children's Commissioner for England - guide to Coronavirus for children and advice, information and resources page
Celebrity videos for children including useful resources
BBC Tiny Happy People resources - from pre-birth to age 5
Children and Young People’s Community Health Services and COVID-19 FAQs April 2020
Head2Head Sensory theatre have created a lockdown production of “Come Trot to Camelot” filmed at the home of two team members and at local woods. It is interactive and has Makaton signing. This production is normally performed at family activity events in school holidays over the country but these unfortunately have had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus; so a video production has been created instead as well as other family activities. Access this video here: Come Trot to Camelot https://youtu.be/bu2Xq5HN4YY
On Twitter we have jokes, snippets of rehearsals with Makaton signing and captions: -
https://twitter.com/H2Htheatre
Here is a link to one of our Facebook videos: -
https://www.facebook.com/head2headtheatre/videos/2691437191174724/
As you may know, if you click 'Following' after you have viewed the video, you will automatically be linked to all our other videos.
On YouTube we are offering some other fun activities with craft and baking ideas that you can try out at home: -
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwsrWlgzNVzi09Ga0_dPZsA
Below is some extra information about our charity that you may require
HEAD2HEAD - Multi-sensory theatre for children/young people with SEND that they can share with their families.
Main charity contact: Anni Rhodes-Steere (Head Administrator)
E-mail: anni@head2headtheatre.co.uk
Website: www.head2headtheatre.co.uk/
For schools and settings
1. Southend EPS have collated some resources, including info on coronavirus and activity ideas for families who are self-isolating
http://www.southendlearningnetwork.co.uk/educationalpsychology
2. For EPs and other mental health professionals:
Opinion articles and research collated at The Psychologist https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/april-2020/coronavirus-psychological-perspectives?utm_source=BPS_Lyris_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=
3. For Secondary age students:
There are also useful web links from Young Minds and the Child Mind Institute about what to do if your child is feeling anxious about coronavirus.
Young Minds:
https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/what-to-do-if-you-re-anxious-about-coronavirus/
Child Mind Institute
https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
4. Social stories/stories with visuals for Primary age children
A Carol Gray social story about corona virus at https://carolgraysocialstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pandemics-and-the-Coronavirus.pdf?fbclid=IwAR23zxNlbEumpw4oKlM7Xy3VlKnA25b8Gi53N6YiFIeKB9Vx0LQypSPYzzg
Another nice visual story to explain to children: https://twitter.com/thelovelymaeve/status/1238399538878087169 or also available at https://www.thedadsnet.com/this-free-book-is-great-for-explaining-covid-19-coronavirus-to-your-children
Also https://www.ppmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/The-Corona-Virus-Free-Printable-Updated-2-The-Autism-Educator-.pdf
5. For families of early years age children
https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/3210-tips-for-families-coronavirus
including an activity guide https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/3264-at-home-activity-guide
6. Ideas to support adults / older children
There is a link for older pupils and adults too focusing on looking after our emotional well-being.
https://afsp.org/taking-care-of-your-mental-health-in-the-face-of-uncertainty/?fbclid=IwAR3ScDBfuhV5INKyutAG9IPNm4JnjjLOmHxv5w8SR9pBbDDU-8Hhy1QH-L8
7. Link with parent-focused ideas from Special Needs Jungle about how to support children with anxiety around coronavirus, including an easy-read explanation for children and adults with learning difficulties:
https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/calming-coronavirus-anxiety-children-everyone-else/#Update
8. For parents, carers and older pupils there are relevant web links from the American Psychological Association about social distancing, anxiety and perspectives about coronavirus information sources..
American Psychological Association
• Keeping Your Distance to Stay Safe: With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing every day, psychologists offer insights on how to separate yourself from others, while still getting the social support you need.
• Seven crucial research findings that can help people deal with COVID-19 : Psychological research on past crises can help people cope with the daily — sometimes hourly — newsflashes about the coronavirus.
https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/03/covid-19-research-findings
• Five Ways to View Coverage of the Coronavirus: Tips to help you manage anxiety, put news reports in perspective and maintain a positive outlook.
https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/pandemics
• Speaking of Psychology: Coronavirus Anxiety : Podcast, psychologist Baruch Fischhoff, PhD, explains why we worry about new risks more than familiar ones, how to calm our anxiety and what are the psychological effects of being quarantined.
https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/coronavirus-anxiety
