how we plan to better support our students
In order to learn how to better support our students with mental health problems, in 2022 Bright World decided to invest in a training and ongoing awareness programme. The programme is for Bright World staff and selected host families and will be specifically targeted towards the support we can offer to international students in UK boarding schools.
To kick start the programme and initiative, the Bright World Head Office Team undertook a full day of training on 15th November 2022 with expert Kate Day from KRD Training. This training was be followed up in November 2023 with training particularly targeted towards host families and Local Coordinators. We were delighted to welcome a number of new Mental Health Champions to help us move further forwards with our mission to do more for our students.
The aim is for our organisation to have a team of trained Mental Health Champions who understand Mental Health and how to care for and speak to students who are struggling whilst under their care. They will also be trained in the Bright World Emergency Safe Plan so they know what to do in an emergency situation.
why do we need this initiative?
We are seeing an increasing number of our guardianship students struggling with their mental health. Sometimes it is our host families or Local Buddies who notice changes in student behaviour and they may also be the person who the child confides in when they are having trouble coping.
If students at UK boarding schools are suffering from poor mental health or have a diagnosed mental health illness then sometimes, as guardians, we are asked by the school to step in and help. After they have seen a Mental Health professional, we are sometimes asked to accommodate students in a host family until they are well enough to return to school. Host families and Local Coordinators (Bright World Buddies) may also be asked to take students to medical or counselling appointments.
supporting professional medical advice
We do not have medical qualifications and we act on advice from medical professionals. Our aim is not to replace a doctor or a counsellor but to complement their work and offer the best support we possibly can to our students.
If we remove a student from school with serious mental health issues, this is only ever with the say so of a medical professional and we always conduct a full risk-assessment, removal form and then follow their guidance. It is also important for us to keep overseas parents informed and updated in these circumstances.
Once at a host family, we need to know why they are feeling like they are, and how we should behave with them to best support their needs and get them through the situation.
training from an expert
We are working with KRD Training specifically with our international students in mind to make sure our training is focussed and relevant. Kate is the Managing Director of KRD Training which specialises in the training of Therapeutic, Educational and Caring professionals in Child and Adolescent Counselling and Mental Health. She has designed and delivered specialised professional training for over 17 years.
Those attending the training will receive a certificate of attendance from KRD Training and Champions will then be sent a Mental Health booklet from Bright World with a checklist of what do to in various situations. Our staff Mental Health Champions will be able to wear their lanyard on official visits to show they have our training.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads partake in termly supervision sessions with Kate where we reflect on students who we have helped.
Bright World is an Organisational Member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
Bright World achieved organisational membership with the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) in 2023. Our Mental Health Champion Initiative was instrumental in gaining this new recognition.
Founded in 1999, The NCPS plays an important role in campaigning for better mental health provision in the UK. The Society's 'Access to Counselling for Every Child' campaign, seeks to make counselling and support more accessible to children and young people. In addition, NCPS promotes accredited counselling services via their Counselling Directory.
As an Organisational Member, Bright World benefits from advice and support from trained Mental Health professionals.
We were very excited to be undertaking the first phase of our initiative in November and December 2022 and I am now delighted that we are entering our second year of our initiative and we feel a lot more confident in offering valuable support to our students. We will continue to learn and develop our knowledge and skills on an ongoing programme of training and activities in the coming years.
what happens next?
We will be consolidating all our new knowledge obtained in November and December and creating a manual for us all to follow. We will be sharing this with parents and schools in due course.
