Targeted support

School staff play an important role in identifying when children need advice, help, more help, or risk support. To help schools to navigate the advice, help, and support available this section includes the Thriving in Education directory.

Some children and young people will need targeted support to help them to thrive.

The resources and services in this section are presented under the areas of the iThrive framework.

This includes getting:

  • advice
  • help
  • more help
  • risk support
Targeted support A-Z

Single Point of Access (SPOA) services

  • CAMHS help children and young people and their families and carers when someone is experiencing emotional well-being or mental health difficulties. They provide services across a variety of locations, such as GP surgeries, clinics, hospitals and schools, to support young people experiencing mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and psychosis.

    CAMHS staff are trained to help your child to acknowledge and understand why they might be feeling and behaving in a certain way, and support them in their recovery to overcome these difficulties with the most appropriate course of treatment.

  • This service offers consultation and support for professionals who are working with young people under the age of 18, and are concerned about a young person’s mental health and wellbeing. Parents are often invited to attend these consultations which may also include professionals such as GPs, teachers, public health nurses, emotional wellbeing leads and support workers.

  • YMCA offer a range of support services to young people aged 11-17 in West Sussex including: face to face counselling, online counselling, art therapy, CBT based support, canine counselling, groupwork and family work. They also have a specialist counselling service for young people who are from ethnic minority groups. They work in lots of different locations in the community – we have private rooms in places like community centres, libraries and youth centres.

  • YES work with young people aged 11-18. YES offers groupwork and 1-to-1 sessions.

    The groupwork tends to be a one-day event where you are equipped with strategies and tools on how to manage difficulties such as anxiety and low mood.

    1-to-1 sessions are designed with the individual in mind. Working flexibly and creatively YES workers will assess, plan, and enable you to identify areas for positive change.

SPOA's partner services

Single Point of Access (SPOA) include:

  • Allsorts Youth Project LGBT+ support service for children and young people aged 5 – 25 and their families
  • Healthy Child Programme The Sussex Community Foundation Trust Healthy Child Programme is for children and Young People. It includes health Visiting and School nursing services
  • Early Help A 'whole family' approach to ensure that children's needs and welfare are being met and maintained as well as those of the family. This is done by working with the family, local communities and others already supporting them
  • Life Centre Trauma-informed therapy for those who have suffered sexual trauma including rape and sexual abuse
  • West Sussex MIND Youth workers at West Sussex Mind can offer free mental health support for young people aged 16 -25
  • Winston's Wish Bereavement support for children and young people aged up to 25

You can find more information by using our targeted support A-Z tool.