Young London SOS: ‘Charity’s mental health counsellors have been lifeline for our school’

“Intrinsic support”: Nicola Noble, co-headteacher of Surrey Square Primary, where 12 pupils every week are given one-to-one counselling

(Lucy Young)

The headteacher of a pioneering London school which was one of the first to bring in dedicated Place2Be mental health counsellors for children said she would not be able to do her job without them.

Surrey Square Primary in Elephant and Castle has worked with Place2Be, the mental health charity at the heart of our Young London SOS campaign, for more than 20 years.

Place2Be counsellors have helped pupils cope with traumatic incidents, including the London Bridge terror attacks, a shooting near the school and the death of a former pupil, as well as supporting children who are exposed to domestic violence or whose parents are suffering with mental health problems and those who have lost a close family member.

They are now also helping the school with the mental health fallout from the pandemic.

Nicola Noble, co-headteacher at the school, said: “I cannot imagine our school without them. Place2Be is such an intrinsic and special part of school life. It sounds dramatic but I really don’t think we would be able to do our job without them in the way we do it now. Mental health would suffer.”

Around 60 per cent of children at Surrey Square Primary qualify for free school meals, and at least 10 per cent of children are from families with no recourse to public funds because of their immigration status. Many of the youngsters live on the notorious Aylesbury estate and have spent lockdown in cramped flats, some scared to go outside.

Up to 12 pupils every week are given one-to-one counselling. Mrs Noble said they could fill those spaces three times over, such is the demand. Children are usually flagged by teachers if there is a change in their behaviour. They may have become withdrawn, or very tired or started acting up.

Mrs Noble said: “A teacher might notice that a child’s shirt cuffs are suddenly dirty and have never been like that before. They could have a conversation with the child and it may transpire that mummy has left, or mummy is not well, or not getting out of bed, so you are able to dig deeper. It is important to notice and take time to ask questions.”

The school employs a Place2Be manager and four counsellors. The team also offers counselling to parents and provides a place for staff to speak about their worries. Mrs Noble said having counsellors in school benefits every child because mental health support has become normalised. It is hoped they will not feel any stigma and seek support early to prevent problems escalating.

Mrs Noble continued: “When lockdown was impending the first time, I felt incredibly unsafe as a headteacher with a lack of advice from the Government and I turned to our Place2Be manager for help. She helped me to think about how we would lock-down the school and the kind of activities we would do with the children to make them feel safe.

“Without Place2Be there would be lots of wobbly adults, but there would be a wobbly headteacher as well. For me the service does more than just counsel children, it supports whole schools and communities. For a very little service it’s an incredible feat.”

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