Ribston Hall High School
Resources and Guidance
Young Minds Matter for Schools
Ribston Hall High School works in partnership with Young Minds Matter (YMM) for Schools. YMM is a safe, confidential mental health support service for school-aged young people. They are part of the Gloucestershire NHS Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and a national scheme of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs).
How can YMM help?
YMM is an early intervention team who can support young people who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. They can help with things like:
- Worries
- Negative thoughts
- Anxiety
- Low mood
- Low self-esteem
- Friendship difficulties stemming from anxiety or low mood
- Low level self-harm or suicidal thoughts
- Exam stress
YMM mainly uses a type of therapy called Low-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which helps young people to think about how their thoughts (cognitions) impact on their actions (behaviours) and their feelings (emotions). There are tasks to complete between sessions to help the young person practice the skills they are learning. There are also other members of the team that provide other CBT-informed interventions.
YMM does not offer counselling, and sessions are based on supporting a young person with achieving a specific goal by understanding more about their mental health and strategies they can use to achieve the goal.
How to access support
Young people can refer themselves to YMM using YMM Chat.
YMM Chat is a text-only number where a young person will text with a member of the YMM team. Young people do need consent from school or parents/carers to text the service.
- Text: 07480 635723 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm, except Bank Holidays)
Please note: YMM Chat is not a self-referral route for parents and carers. If a pupil does not want to self-refer, they can also speak with our Wellbeing team in school, who will be happy to support them with this.
If, for any reason, a student doesn’t feel comfortable self-referring or speaking to our Wellbeing team, parents and carers can access a referral through On Your Mind Glos.
What else does Young Minds Matter do in our school?
Young Minds Matter also comes into school to deliver assemblies, workshops and small groups on a range of wellbeing topics such as Transition, Understanding Emotions and Exam Stress. A member of the Young Minds Matter team also meets with us regularly to talk about what other support is available. If you would like us to discuss your child with someone from Young Minds Matter, then let us know by contacting our Wellbeing team.
Information for Parents
In addition to the above information, the YMM service has shared an Information for Parents sheet and Privacy Notice.
On Your Mind Glos
On Your Mind Glos is a website for Children and Young People who need help and support with their mental health, but are not sure where to go. The website includes an A-Z of support services as well as self-help guides and resources that are designed for both young people and families. You can find out more by visiting the On Your Mind Glos website.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
CAMHS provides consultation, assessment and treatment for young people in Gloucestershire who have high levels of mental health needs and have not been able to get better with other support. The service has also published a collection of downloadable guidance and advice for young people and their parents/carers. You can find out more by visiting the CAMHS website.
Chat Health
ChatHealth offers support to young people with questions relating to a wide range of health and wellbeing issues including: relationships, bullying, healthy lifestyle, anxiety, drugs, smoking, stress, body worries, alcohol, self-harm and sexual health.
As well as giving advice, the school nursing team can also signpost to appropriate services and other support.
- Message: 07507 333351 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm, except Bank Holidays)
You can find out more by visiting the School Nursing website.
Mental Health Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation provides evidence-backed advice and resources. Since 2001, the Mental Health Foundation has been leading an annual Mental Health Awareness Week campaign in May.
You can explore evidence-based resources to learn about mental health, how to care for your own wellbeing, support others, and prevent mental ill-health on the Mental Health Awareness Week website.
The Foundation has also published a tip sheet with their top ten actions to support good mental health.