Mental Health Matters

Place2Be has been looking out for children's mental health since 1994. The charity provides counselling services and training to schools to support the whole school community and improve the emotional wellbeing of pupils, families, teachers and staff. 

With one in six children and young people experiencing a diagnosable mental health condition, and 50% of mental health issues established before the age of 14, children's mental health is a growing problem that requires early intervention.

Place2Be places counsellors in schools, offering a professional, accessible mental health service for children, their families and teachers. These services include one-to-one counselling for children with the most urgent needs, a self-referral service, and consultation for parents and teachers.

Thanks to the support of players of People's Postcode Lottery, last year Place2Be worked with 700 schools and reached over 380,000 pupils through in-school services and training. Place2Be currently has counsellors embedded in 386 schools in England, Scotland and Wales.

Counselling Through COVID-19

The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, young people and their families is evident across the UK. According to Place2Be's frontline staff, 85% of the young people they support in secondary schools have been negatively affected by the pandemic.

Thanks to funding from players of People's Postcode Lottery, Place2Be is able to continue looking out for the mental health of young people at a time when  emotional support has been needed more than ever.

During the first lockdown, Place2Be:

• Provided support for families remotely, delivering close to 35,000 phone counselling sessions to children, young people, families and school staff,
• Offered online resources to support schools and communities, which were viewed or downloaded over 85,000 times, and
• Partnered with leading providers to offer digital support tools for young people, including an app to help reduce anxiety, and access to an online community with wellbeing resources and counselling.

The charity continues to offer these tools to the young people they work with, giving them greater choice and flexibility in how they access mental health resources.

Over the coming year, the support offered by Place2Be will be vital for young people struggling with the challenges of the pandemic. Thanks to People's Postcode Lottery players, Place2Be can continue to grow their services to reach more young people, parents and school communities across the UK.

Helping Good Causes

Find out more about the incredible Charities supported by the generosity of our players. To date, they have contributed over £600 Million to a wide range of deserving causes. 

Related Links

• How Our Players Support Place2Be
• Place2Be Website
• How To Help A Bullying Charity
• How To Support Charities For Children