What happened Next?

On the righthand side is the email we sent to the above school.

Our email was well accepted and we were welcomed to work with the school to support them to support the students.

17.06.2025 our Founder & Leading Director Holly met with the schools SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) to explore how we can best support the school in assisting SEND children.

Holly was shown around the SEND department and was pleased to see all of the support that is in place; a small classroom-like room where students can go in transition between lessons, need some time to self-regulate in a safe space, need to offload and so on. In this space they are able to do their work, have access to fidget toys and are with a teacher who can support them. The department also includes a few separate rooms as they recognise that some students will need a quieter space to regulate and the main room may still be too overwhelming. Holly was also able to see some positive interactions between students and staff.

The school has kindly agreed to accept Mental Health and Me's offer to deliver a facilitated discussion on children's mental health and wellbeing in educational settings, based on lived experience, whilst recognising children still need to be disciplined when appropriate. The anonymous questions we reference in the assembly would be used to gather data on students' prior knowledge of mental health, to identify gaps in education and support, and gather evidence which can be used as research to help reform the mental health system by presenting this evidence to government organisations, as well as feeding back to the school.

Overall, it was a very positive morning and we look forward to working together with the school. As it is now the summer holidays there is a bit of a break, but we will update with more info as soon as we have it!

20.08.2025 MENTAL HEALTH AND ME DONATED SOME BITS TO A LOCAL SCHOOL FOR THEM TO USE IN THEIR SENSORY GARDEN THEY ARE BUILDING. MYSELF AND DIRECTOR LEO DELIVERED THEM TO THE SCHOOL TODAY & VOLUNTEERED OUR TIME TO HELP GARDENING WHEN WE CAN! WE GOT A TOUR ROUND THE SCHOOL AND GOT TO SEE HOW AMAZING IT REALLY IS WITH ALL THEIR SENSORY CLASSROOMS - THEY REALLY GENUINELY CARE FOR THE CHILDREN’S WELLBEING AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING MORE WITH THEM IN THE FUTURE 🤍📚

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MORE OF OUR WORK WITH THEM!

Local School SEND parents and SEND pupils complaints

20.05.2025 we came across a post on a local Facebook group which showed the Parents of pupils / ex-pupils of a local school conducting a peaceful protest to support children with SEND more effectively. We got into contact with the original poster and asked if we could go down and speak with them to hear of their concerns and see how Mental Health and Me CIC can work with them to help – this aligns with our mission to promote inclusivity, raise awareness, reduce stigma and advocate for change in educational settings.

21.05.2025 two of Mental Health and Me CIC directors – Holly & Leo, went down to visit the peaceful protest to talk with the protestors (parents) and understand their views and goals. The general concern was that SEN children are being treated differently to those without special educational needs, not being understood, not being heard, not being supported, facing discrimination, being treated as naughty and being ‘vilified’. One parent told us their child described the school as ‘mental torture’, another stated that ‘children with a difference are segregated so the school can succeed.’ As well as ‘The children feel alienated’ amongst many other comments. It was also reported to us that a child was ‘told by a head-teacher to Leave their autism at the gate.’ The parents and SEN students feel they are punished for their disabilities, they feel there are no reasonable adjustments in place, no resources and any resources that are offered such as ‘time-out cards’ are challenged by teachers and not allowed to be fully utilised by the pupils – 3 minutes only outside the classroom in view of the class.

Whilst the parents and a handful of ex-pupils were holding up the signs (picture on the left) the school were observing – we noticed ourselves a member of staff read the sign ‘What about Wellbeing IN school?’ and roll their eyes/raise their eyebrows whilst another student, who was not educated on mental health / neurodiversity etc walked past using strong language against support for students wellbeing, this is why education around mental health / neurodiversity etc is important for both students and staff! The majority of students, however, were in support of this protest – this was demonstrated as they were holding up signs and chanting ‘Our voices matter!’

The parents stated they have raised their concerns with the school SENCO, the school staff, Ofsted etc. We were told that it takes weeks for a response sometimes. They feel that their either not listened to at all or they are promised changes and then there is never any action. They have now spoken with a local radio station.

On the backhand of this, we wrote a letter to the school to offer to work with them in line with our mission to promote inclusivity, raise awareness, reduce stigma and advocate for change in educational settings as well as provide them with resources to help them to support the students. We also offered to do an assembly for the children on mental health, which will include an anonymous questionnaire which will enable us to identify areas that may need attention and bring this to the school and again, support them in supporting the children.

Local SEN School Sensory Garden