Place2Be
Embedding mental health support within schools
Place2Be is incredibly grateful to donors that choose to make unrestricted grants to our work, of which Pears Foundation is the most significant. This kind of support provides us with the security and flexibility to be innovative and ambitious, and has underpinned our ability to adapt and grow. The support and endorsement of Pears Foundation has been vital in making this possible. They have asked challenging questions and shared their knowledge, helping us refine realistic and sustainable long-term plans.Dame Benita Refson OBE, President,
Place2Be
School-based counselling makes sense on many levels. It offers children a safe and non-stigmatising place to talk about things that trouble them, so that problems can be addressed early on. For schools, having Place2Be’s trained counsellors on site gives teachers and other staff confidence to address issues around mental health and wellbeing, and school heads and governors tell us they value how this in turn helps create a culture of more openness and emotional resilience across the school.Kari Holtung, Pears Foundation
Partner since: 2010
Funding invested: £2.3million
- Core: Unrestricted funding
- Capital: Refurbishment of new premises
Supporting children’s mental health requires making help available early, before difficulties become more serious. Schools are often where those difficulties first become visible, making them an important place to provide support. By embedding mental health professionals within schools, Place2Be makes support accessible within a familiar environment while also strengthening the wider school community around the child.
Place2Be has pioneered this approach for more than 30 years. Each partner school has a dedicated mental health professional who becomes part of the school team, providing one-to-one and group support for pupils while working closely with families and staff. This whole-school approach means Place2Be can support individual children while also helping schools build greater understanding and confidence around mental health and wellbeing.
Pears Foundation has partnered with Place2Be since 2010. Our long-term support has given the organisation flexibility to invest in its core work, adapt and grow, while continuing to develop its approach as the needs of children, families and schools have changed.
Alongside its work directly in schools, Place2Be provides training and professional qualifications that help teachers, school staff and other professionals better understand and respond to children’s mental health. Its experience of working directly with school communities also informs its research and work to improve policy and practice more widely.
Our partnership reflects the importance we place on early, accessible mental health support for children and young people. By locating that support within the everyday life of a school, Place2Be reaches children directly while strengthening the adults and wider school community around them.