What we do
Blue Smile provides specialist, arts-based mental health support to children aged 3-13 in Cambridgeshire schools.
We help children struggling with anxiety, grief, anger and other emotional problems so they can enjoy happier childhoods and build brighter futures.
We provide:
- 1:1 therapy to help children come to terms with difficult experiences and feelings.
- Small-group support to help children cope with big feelings or challenging situations.
- Advice and mentoring for parents and teachers so they can promote children’s emotional wellbeing.
- Mental health education to promote understanding of emotional wellbeing across the school community.
Our support is delivered in schools and is free for families.
We help children in around 40 schools each year. This includes 9 Partner Schools, where we provide a holistic package of services to support the whole school community. At other schools, we deliver one or more service to meet local needs.
“The support that we as a staff have had has been outstanding. Through the therapy that the children have had directly and the advice that Blue Smile staff are able to provide for school staff, we have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the issues that many of our children face”
Headteacher
Our proven approach
Blue Smile has been supporting children’s mental health in Cambridgeshire since 2010, using tried-and-tested methods backed by research. Many schools have worked with us for five years or more, valuing the positive impact for children’s wellbeing and learning.
Our therapists are experts, highly qualified and experienced in working with children. We use arts-based approaches and play to help children explore feelings and process their experiences. Drawing, painting, modelling, games and role-play help children express things that may be hard to put into words, in a safe and age-appropriate way.
We deliver our mental health support in schools, mainly primary schools, so it’s easy for children to access and all our services are free to families. Schools make a contribution towards the cost, but it is highly subsidised.
Our early-intervention approach means we can prevent children’s mental health problems escalating. Sometimes Blue Smile is called upon to help a child at crisis point, but working closely with schools means we can often start support early, reducing long-term harm to the child’s wellbeing and education.
We take a whole-school approach to promoting emotional wellbeing. As well as supporting children directly, we work with parents, teachers and the whole school community.
One-to-one therapy
We provide 1:1 arts-based therapy and counselling for children facing emotional problems such as anxiety, grief, anger or low self-esteem. Many children we help have experienced difficult or traumatic experiences such as parental separation, bereavement, domestic abuse or illness in the family.
Our expert therapists work long-term with children (up to 20 weeks), providing a weekly session in their school. This gives time to build a trusting relationship and make a lasting impact.
Children are referred for therapy by their school, with the agreement of their parents/guardians. Our therapists meet with parents and teachers at the beginning and end of therapy to set goals, review progress and offer support.
After therapy, teachers and parents routinely report improvements in children’s school attendance, attainment and engagement. Children tell us that they feel happier and more confident, and find it easier to make friends and engage at school.
“They’re really kind and if you’re sad about something they’ll help you be happy again”
Child supported by Blue Smile
Small-group support
Our psycho-educational groupwork helps children to understand their emotions and develop coping strategies. This early-intervention approach aims to equip children to manage big feelings or difficult situations.
Groups can include up to 8 children and meet weekly for 6 sessions. Two facilitators lead each group, which include a variety of arts-based activities and games.
We offer 5 groupwork programmes, delivered in schools.
“It has helped me because when I find something hard I can now calm myself down”
Child supported by Blue Smile
Support for parents and staff
Parents and teachers often tell us that they feel ill-equipped to cope when children struggle with emotional difficulties.
In addition to support for children, we provide services for the wider school community.
We provide:
- Support sessions for parents and teachers of every child receiving 1:1 therapy
- Advice and informal mentoring for teachers and other school staff as part of our Partner School service
- Formal mentoring for teachers and school staff
- Class workshops and whole-school assemblies
“It has been helpful to be able to meet with (the therapist) and to talk about how (my child’s) been and how to manage family life”
Parent
Find out more
To find out more about any of our mental health services for children and schools in Cambridgeshire, please get in touch.
Email: info@bluesmile.org.uk
Phone: 01223 314725
If you are a parent seeking counselling or other mental health support for your child, please note that all referrals to Blue Smile come via schools. Please speak first with your child’s class teacher, SENCO, or headteacher to request they consider Blue Smile support. You can find other sources of support on our Urgent Help page.