Children's mental health still a priority as Blackpool funding ends

Around 19,000 youngsters aged between 10 and 16 have benefitted from the HeadStart project, which was mainly funded by a £10m Lottery grant awarded in 2016.

Funding ends on July 31, but the key elements of the scheme including work to prevent self harming will continue.

Pauline Wigglesworth, HeadStart Programme Leader, told a meeting of the council’s children and young people’s scrutiny commitee: “There has been rigorous attention to our sustainability and successful continuation of funding by the NHS, schools and council to continue some of the successful activities of the programme.”

These will include Resilience Coaches where costs will be met through schools and education funding in future.

Resilience coaches work alongside young people, foster carers, school and social workers on a one-to-one basis to help children remain in mainstream education where appropriate.

Work to support children at risk of self harm will also continue funded by the CCG (clinical commissioning group) for an initial 12 months, before it is expected to be recommissioned by the NHS.

The Walk and Talk project, which provides an alternative form of counselling by building up self esteem through activities and using locations such as parks and other outdoor venues, will also continue.

Blackpool Council is set to fund the Friend for Life project which matches adult volunteers with children aged between 10 and 12, pledging lifelong support.

Ms Wigglesworth said the self harm programme was helping some of the town’s “most distressed young people.”

She added: “This programme has given them supporting strategies and crucially connected them to support in the community.

“87 per cent did not re-present to A&E. That’s a great outcome, not only for our hospital but also for our young people that they are coping with their stress in a way that doesn’t require crisis help.”

She said there were now 28 new friendships in place as part of the Friends for Life project, with leisure giant Merlin Entertainments which operates venues including Blackpool Tower, set to support the scheme in future.

Ms Wigglesworth said: “Children who have a friend for life attend school more, and they have encouraged children who have wanted to leave a foster home to stay.”

Blackpool was one of six areas nationally chosen to take part in the HeadStart programme to develop a community approach to supporting mental health among young people.

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