Kendrick School Counsellors
To support our students, we use an established Reading counselling service, No5. We have three experienced counsellors, Emma, Katie and Michelle, who provide 20 confidential one-to-one appointments per week. Students are able to access this service, free of charge, by emailing Mrs Hackett on JHackett@kendrick.reading.sch.uk Alternatively, they can ask any member of staff, such as their form tutor, Head of Year, Student Welfare Team member etc. who will pass the referral to Mrs Hackett, who manages the appointments. At times there can be a waiting list, but students will be seen as soon as possible.

No 5 Young People - 11-25 years
Sometimes life can feel very difficult and it can be hard to cope on your own, so at No5 we provide free, confidential counselling and support to children and young people aged 11-25.

Daisy's Dream - 0-18 years
Daisy's Dream offer free advice and support to children, their families and anyone who is concerned about a child affected by life threatening illness or bereavement.

Reading CAHMS 
Our Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) works with young people who are experiencing significant, severe and complex difficulties with their mental health.

Berkshire Child Anxiety Clinic - 7-17 years
At AnDY we offer assessments, treatment and research to children and young people who are experiencing difficulties with anxiety and/or depression. We will first offer you an assessment to identify the things causing you difficulties, before inviting you back to discuss our findings and, where appropriate, offer suitable treatment and research.

Berkshire Psychology - 0-18 years
Providing specialist psychological assessments and interventions across Berkshire and surrounding areas. Services are offered to individuals, couples, families, schools and organisations and include expert witness services, expert consultancy, training, supervision, educational and occupational psychology services. In addition to psychology services, we have a network of therapists from different backgrounds who can offer a variety of therapeutic approaches

ARC - 11-17 years (low cost adult counselling. Free for under 22)
We offer support for any issue or problem you bring to us and we will provide a safe, non-judgemental and confidential space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings. At ARC we can provide up to six sessions to young people from 11 years old. The sessions are with the same counsellor face-to-face or online via Zoom, at the same time and same day every week. The counselling sessions are held at our own premises in Wokingham or at Oakwood Centre in Woodley.

Wokingham CAHMS
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We are here to help children and teenagers with mental health difficulties. We will assess people's needs and then our team of professionals will provide appropriate support.

Wokingham Borough Council - Emotional Wellbeing Hub
The Emotional Wellbeing Hub is aimed at children and young people with mild to moderate emotional wellbeing needs up to their 19th birthday. This could include issues such as anxiety, friendship and relationship issues, low mood, or exam stress.

Berkshire CAHMS
Our children and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) works with young people who are experiencing significant, severe and complex difficulties with their mental health.

Youthline
Youthline provides a FREE, confidential counselling service for young people attending secondary school and adults who care for and support young people. We work across a number of locations within Bracknell Forest including our main base at The Lodge, Coopers Hill, and 10 secondary schools.

Bracknell CAHMS
CAMHS provides a specialist mental health service for children and young people. Community Mental Health Team (CMHT): CMHT provides a service for individuals including 16 and 17 year olds who are no longer in full time education and who are suffering from mental illness or severe emotional distress.

Adviza
A charity inspiring for 13–19 year olds in Berkshire people to make better decisions that help them progress in learning and work.  

Thinkuknow - education programme from NCA-CECIP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline

CEOP - for advice on making a report about online abuse

Support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online:

Internet Matters  

The National Grid for Learning 

Net-aware 

Parentzone 

Omegle - Parent Advice and Guidance

The BBC's Own It keyboard and app helps young people new to social media manage their well-being, whilst empowering children to make smart choices, and helping them to lead a positive life online.

The Own It app and keyboard lets children:

• get advice whenever they type
• track their feelings
• win badges as they reflect
• find help when they need it
• taking quizzes to learn more about themselves

Anna Freud - Managing Social Media
A  Managing Social Media booklet aimed to highlight some key social media issues and offers advice and guidance on how to minimise the impact of social media on your mental health. Click here for the resource.

Daisy’s Dream

This organisation supports children and their families affected by both life threatening illnesses and bereavement, throughout Berkshire and the surrounding areas. Find out more details at www.daisysdream.org.uk or contact them on 0118 9342604 or at info@daisysdream.org.uk

Cruse Bereavement Care

Offering support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies. Visit https://www.cruse.org.uk/ for more information. Free help line 0808 808 1677 or contact them at helpline@cruse.org.uk

National Bullying Helpline

If you are struggling with bullying, harassment, cyberbullying or anti-social behaviour issues, this website will enable you to identify solutions and remedies along with practical help. Click here for more information.

Anti-Bullying Alliance

The Anti-Bullying Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals that are united against bullying. Click here for more information.

NSPCC

Read the NSPCC free information to help you to understand what bullying and cyberbullying is, how it affects children and young people and how you can respond to it. Click here for more information.

Do you know exactly where your child is in the evenings and at weekends? Do you know every friend they have? Very few parents of teenagers will be able to answer ‘yes’ to both of those questions.
Schools and local authorities are growing increasingly concerned about the impact of County Lines on the young people in our area. This is a particular method of drug dealing which involves the exploitation of children and young people.

You probably think this isn’t relevant to your child. But it could be.

Reading is one of five cities where County Lines is known to be particularly active. It involves a network of very manipulative individuals who have tried and tested ways of coercing boys (usually) into drug dealing, putting them at risk of both criminal exploitation and violence. They do this by giving them phones, clothes, trainers, money and buying them food. They are made to feel special, respected and it gives them kudos all of which can be very seductive to a teenage boy. Girls also get pulled in and are often subject to sexual violence and exploitation. We know that this is happening in our community and you need to be aware that it could be happening to your child.

There are a variety of tell-tale signs but the most obvious are when a child has money, clothes, ‘phones but can’t explain where they came from. They are likely to return home late, stay out all night or go missing for short periods. They might go to areas away from home to meet up with people you do not know.

If you have any concerns about your child or someone else’s, please contact school or the local police for advice. Together we need to support our children.

For more information on County Lines, please click on the links below:

Children’s Society – What is County Lines?

National Crime Agency – County Lines

NPSCC – Protecting Children from County Lines 

ARC

This is a free and confidential counselling service based in Wokingham but also with offices in Lower Earley and Woodley. Find out more details at www.arcweb.org.uk or contact them on 0118 97 76710.

No5 Counselling

No5 offers confidential listening to support children and young people and those around them, through our free counselling service for those aged 10-25 in the Reading area.

www.no5.org.uk

Text: 07984 357551

Call: 0118 901 5668

Email: info@no5.org.uk

7cups

Free, anonymous and confidential online chat with trained listening, online therapists and counsellors. Visit https://www.7cups.com/ for more information.

Talking Therapies  

Talking Therapies is a friendly and approachable NHS service that offers support if you’re coping with mental health challenges like depression, stress, anxiety or phobias.

If you’re aged 17 and over and living in Berkshire, they can help you overcome the mental health challenges you’re facing. Find out more about Talking Therapies in Berkshire, and how they can help you here.

Berkshire Women’s Aid

An organisation for women fearing or experiencing abuse, at home or in a relationship. Contact their helpline on 0118 950 4003 or visit www.berkshirewomensaid.org.uk for advice or more information.

BEAT

Provides helplines, online support and a network of UK-wide self-help groups to help adults and young people in the UK beat eating disorders. Visit www.b-eat.co.uk for more information or contact their Youthline (under 18s) 0808 801 0711 or their studentline (all students) 0808 801 0811.

Stonewall
A charity which provides information and support for LGBTQ+ communities and their allies. Visit www.stonewall.org.uk for more information.

Support U
Based in Reading – a dedicated support team and specialist resources for LGBTQ+ people and those affected by LGBTQ+ related issues. The team can assist with concerns ranging from employment to sexual health and coming out to counselling. Visit www.supportu.org.uk for more information.

Anna Freud
A resource to support the mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex young people. Click here for the resource.

Created by Anna Freud, this resource walks young people through a series of steps, helping them create a detailed self-care plan that works for them

Click here for the resource 

Part of Youthscape. SelfharmUK is a project dedicated to supporting young people impacted by self-harm, providing a safe space to talk, ask any questions and be honest about what's going on in your life. Visit www.selfharm.co.uk for more information.

Information about self-harm: https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/self-harm/

App to help with self-harm: https://calmharm.co.uk/

Brook

Free & confidential sexual health & well-being service. Visit https://www.brook.org.uk for more information.

We understand it can be hard to know what to do when someone you care about is going through a rough patch, so we have put together some tips and advice, with the help of Common Room and young people from mental health support group Hearts & Minds. 

Click here for information on how to talk to someone you're worried about, how to look after yourself during this time and how to seek help from an adult if you become seriously worried. In each section, you can read quotations that come directly from young people who have experience coping with similar situations.  

Childline

Get support for a wide range of issues affecting young people. Visit www.childline.org.uk or contact them on 0800 1111 or email them through the website.

There is also a ‘For Me’ app: https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/for-me/ From advice to message boards, you can now get everything you need from Childline in an app. It's quick, easy and you can lock it with a PIN. By downloading the app, you're in control. You can talk to us whenever - and wherever - you need to.

Mind

https://www.mind.org.uk/

‘Mind’ provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. 

Samaritans

This organisation offers confidential emotional support for anyone in the UK and Ireland. The service is available 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide. Visit https://www.samaritans.org/ for more information.

Call free any time on 116 123 or email at jo@samaritans.org (response time 24 hours)

AFC Crisis Messenger
The AFC Crisis Messenger text service is a free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or is struggling to cope. The service is staffed by trained volunteers who will work with you to take your next steps towards feeling better. We can help with issues such as anxiety, worry, panic attacks, bullying and depression and are here to talk at any time of day or night. 

If you need support, you can text AFC to 85258.

Sane

SANE is a leading UK mental health charity improving quality of life for anyone affected by mental illness - including family friends and carers. The support hotline is available afterschool 4.30pm-10.30pm. Visit http://www.sane.org.uk/ for more information.

SHOUT for support in a crisis

Shout is the UK’s first 24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere. It’s a place to go if you’re struggling to cope and you need immediate help.

Text Shout to 85258. Visit https://www.giveusashout.org/ for more information.

Students Against Depression

Students Against Depression offers information and resources validated by health professionals alongside tips and advice from students who have experienced it all themselves.

http://studentsagainstdepression.org/

YoungMinds

YoungMinds Crisis Messenger: If you are experiencing a mental health crisis you can text YM to 85258. You'll be connected to a trained volunteer in less than 5 minutes, who will listen, help you think through how you're feeling, and aim to help you take the next steps towards feeling better. Visit https://youngminds.org.uk/ for more information.