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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.

Evidence-Based Toolkits

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).
Links to courses, information and resources

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

When working with children and young people it can sometimes be difficult to know what difficulties they might be experiencing in their life, if they are struggling with mental health or emotional wellbeing, but also to know how to help them to manage these difficulties better. CAMHS have put together a list of some of things that they 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.