Students and their families can access online wellbeing support through a trusted NHS provider Kooth Digital Health. Kooth.com is for young people aged 11-18 in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Qwell.io is for adults aged 18+. The free, safe and anonymous support includes text based chat support with professional counsellors available 365 days a year, 12pm -10pm on weekdays and 6pm-10pm at weekends. Also available are helpful articles, self-help tools and moderated discussion forums to help connect with a supportive community. Sign up is simple and takes only a few minutes allowing help to be accessed immediately.
It is the aim for all schools across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to make the students aware of the support options available to them at Kooth.
It is vital that students know that this free, safe and anonymous online mental wellbeing community exists for them whatever they are going through. Kooth can give additional support for students who may already be receiving support through school counsellors, MHSTs and CAMHS.
It is a commissioned service funded by the local Integrated Care Board and offers support with no waiting lists. The platform provides young people the opportunity to talk about their wellbeing without the fear of judgement. There are clinical practitioners on hand to offer one-to-one support through text-based counselling which operates after school hours, at the weekend and during school holidays. The overriding benefit is that young people can access help immediately without a referral form.
Further to this, schools can take advantage of the virtual wellbeing assemblies delivered by the Kooth Engagement Lead for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. These assemblies can be delivered within 15 minutes and streamed directly to the classroom during tutor time, therefore providing an ideal way to share the information about Kooth with the students.
To arrange a virtual assembly, contact: [email protected]
In the meantime, take a look at these useful links:
Education Resources – Signposting videos, case studies & guides