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Information for Professionals and Practitioners

Information for professionals and practitioners
Children’s mental health is a vital foundation for their overall well-being, learning, and development. As professionals working with children and families, you play a crucial role in recognising early signs of emotional distress, providing support, and creating environments where children feel safe and understood. This section offers links to practical guidance, evidence-based strategies, and resources to help you promote resilience, respond effectively to challenges, and collaborate with families and other services. Together, we can ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive.

Our Trauma Informed Language Guide provides simple guidelines on how to use language to empower individuals, reduce stigma and reinforce a person-first approach.

Trauma informed approaches can be used by practitioners to increase feelings of safety and trust, address the negative impact of trauma experiences and promote better health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals.

Trauma informed approaches

Our Trauma Informed Language Guide provides simple guidelines on how to use language to empower individuals, reduce stigma and reinforce a person-first approach.

Trauma informed approaches can be used by practitioners to increase feelings of safety and trust, address the negative impact of trauma experiences and promote better health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals.

Trauma informed approaches

Education Endowment Foundation – Early Years Evidence Store – Strategies for social-emotional development and self-regulation.

Unicef Toolkit - a toolkit to support local action in the UK. The toolkit aims to:

  • Help partners from different services and professions to develop a deeper, shared understanding of mental health in infancy and early childhood, and the factors that influence it.
  • Support service leaders, commissioners and other decision makers and policy teams to develop whole-system responses to ensure babies and young children are mentally healthy now and are supported to develop the skills they need to continue to be mentally healthy throughout their lives.
  • Provide resources, signposting, and conversation guides to support constructive local discussions, decisions and action about the needs of babies and young children in their area, and what more might be done to respond to these needs (including through strategy development across mental health, maternity, early years or Family Hubs & Start for Life).

Education Endowment Foundation – Early Years Evidence Store – Strategies for social-emotional development and self-regulation.

Unicef Toolkit - a toolkit to support local action in the UK. The toolkit aims to:

  • Help partners from different services and professions to develop a deeper, shared understanding of mental health in infancy and early childhood, and the factors that influence it.
  • Support service leaders, commissioners and other decision makers and policy teams to develop whole-system responses to ensure babies and young children are mentally healthy now and are supported to develop the skills they need to continue to be mentally healthy throughout their lives.
  • Provide resources, signposting, and conversation guides to support constructive local discussions, decisions and action about the needs of babies and young children in their area, and what more might be done to respond to these needs (including through strategy development across mental health, maternity, early years or Family Hubs & Start for Life).
  • Togetherness NHS Online Courses for Professionals
  • Self-Harm Hub A dedicated space for anyone who is supporting young people who self-harm
  • The Minds Ahead School Mental Health Hub - Minds Ahead For anyone working in a school or college who wants to promote and protect the wellbeing and mental health of children, young people and adults
  • CAMHS professionals CAMHS have put together a list of some of mental health difficulties that young people may experience and some top tips of how these difficulties can be monitored and managed better together.
  • HSCP Professionals This resource is for practitioners who work with children, young people and families, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity, who require further information, support or guidance around safeguarding issues.
  • Healthier Together -Professionals A wide range of resources and videos on a variety of health topics.
  • Hampshire Health in Education (for Educational settings) Hampshire Health in Education (HHiE) is a Public Health programme for all education settings in Hampshire, from early years to post-16. Our aim is to support you to take a Whole Setting Approach (WSA) to promote the health and wellbeing of children, young people, and families.
  • Targeted support : Mentally Healthy Schools A guide and tool for providing effective targeted mental wellbeing support in your school or college.
  • Early Years Moodle Here you can view the networks, projects and initiatives led by the Advisory team
  • Hampshire Back-to-Basics Families all need some help from time to time due to life changes or events. Back to Basics explores what small steps can me made to improve children's wellbeing as well as parents.
  • Five Ways to Wellbeing Here you can read about the Five Ways to Wellbeing and find further ideas to help improve enjoyment of life, self-confidence and engagement with the world.
  • Mental Wellbeing Hampshire Mental Wellbeing Hampshire is a partnership of organisations working to support good mental health and wellbeing in our communities.
  • YoungMinds Professional Resources – Toolkits, webinars, and practical guides for schools and youth workers.
  • Anna Freud Centre – Evidence-Based Practice Unit – Research-informed tools and training for professionals.
  • Place2Be – Mental health services in schools, training, and resources for staff.
  • NSPCC Learning – Mental Health Resources – Guidance on safeguarding and promoting mental health.
  • Mental Health Foundation – School Resource Packs – Lesson plans and assemblies for promoting wellbeing.
  • Togetherness NHS Online Courses for Professionals
  • Self-Harm Hub A dedicated space for anyone who is supporting young people who self-harm
  • The Minds Ahead School Mental Health Hub - Minds Ahead For anyone working in a school or college who wants to promote and protect the wellbeing and mental health of children, young people and adults
  • CAMHS professionals CAMHS have put together a list of some of mental health difficulties that young people may experience and some top tips of how these difficulties can be monitored and managed better together.
  • HSCP Professionals This resource is for practitioners who work with children, young people and families, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity, who require further information, support or guidance around safeguarding issues.
  • Healthier Together -Professionals A wide range of resources and videos on a variety of health topics.
  • Hampshire Health in Education (for Educational settings) Hampshire Health in Education (HHiE) is a Public Health programme for all education settings in Hampshire, from early years to post-16. Our aim is to support you to take a Whole Setting Approach (WSA) to promote the health and wellbeing of children, young people, and families.
  • Targeted support : Mentally Healthy Schools A guide and tool for providing effective targeted mental wellbeing support in your school or college.
  • Early Years Moodle Here you can view the networks, projects and initiatives led by the Advisory team
  • Hampshire Back-to-Basics Families all need some help from time to time due to life changes or events. Back to Basics explores what small steps can me made to improve children's wellbeing as well as parents.
  • Five Ways to Wellbeing Here you can read about the Five Ways to Wellbeing and find further ideas to help improve enjoyment of life, self-confidence and engagement with the world.
  • Mental Wellbeing Hampshire Mental Wellbeing Hampshire is a partnership of organisations working to support good mental health and wellbeing in our communities.
  • YoungMinds Professional Resources – Toolkits, webinars, and practical guides for schools and youth workers.
  • Anna Freud Centre – Evidence-Based Practice Unit – Research-informed tools and training for professionals.
  • Place2Be – Mental health services in schools, training, and resources for staff.
  • NSPCC Learning – Mental Health Resources – Guidance on safeguarding and promoting mental health.
  • Mental Health Foundation – School Resource Packs – Lesson plans and assemblies for promoting wellbeing.