The year 6 children were today introduced to the website ‘Kooth.com’. This is a free, safe and anonymous mental well-being support service that is provided by the NHS.  The children can sign up to this organisation  for free and can get individual support through their chatline but also can just browse the website for information to support their mental well-being.  Please speak to your children about the information that they gained from their talk this afternoon.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the coming weeks your child may mention they have been made aware of a service
called Kooth. It provides early intervention mental health support to children and young
people. Kooth works with schools and professionals across over 90% of the UK.
Kooth is free to access via any internet-connected tablet, computer or smartphone.
There are no waiting lists or thresholds to meet and a referral from a medical
professional is not needed. Your child can join Kooth anonymously simply by visiting
www.kooth.com.

Kooth offers young people a range and choice of support options under one digital roof.
It has services that are accessible 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This includes one to
one text based sessions with experienced counsellors and wellbeing practitioners run
from midday to 10pm on weekdays, and from 6 -10pm at the weekend. Appointments
can be booked in advance or accessed via a drop-in text-based chat. Kooth also provides
a fully safeguarded and pre-moderated community with a library of peer and
professional created articles. And there are discussion forums too. All content is
pre-moderated and age appropriate.

Kooth covers many topics on the website including relationships, LGBTQIIA+, exam
stress, anxiety, eating difficulties, self harm, suicidal thoughts, body image, social
media, bullying and family worries. All of these subjects affecting young peoples’
mental health are presenting issues that Kooth and other mental health providers see
from all age groups. Kooth users are shown age appropriate content on the website,
we ask for their month and year of birth when signing up. Kooth is commissioned
by the NHS and clinically approved for children from the age of 10, and is the only
digital mental health provider to hold a BACP (British Association for Counselling and
Psychotherapy) accreditation across the UK.

If you would like to know more about Kooth you can watch a 10 minute overview Here
For FAQs and further written information about Kooth, please take a look at this page.
We have invited Kooth to come into the school to talk about the service with pupils on
24th June. Your child will be given the opportunity to sign up to Kooth during the
workshop. Please note, only Year 6 to Secondary school transition will be spoken
about in the session.

If you have any questions please let us know. If you would prefer to contact Kooth
directly, please email parents@kooth.com.

Over the last academic year, an Engagement Lead for Kooth Digital Health has been
working closely with staff in school to deliver training on all aspects of how Kooth
works and supports your child. As well as all students having the opportunity to hear
much more about Kooth and how its services can support them, a range of physical and
digital promotional resources including Kooth’s Guide to Coping with Exam Stress are
being used around school to promote the service & remind students that Kooth is here
to help 24/7, 365 days of the year via its easy to access website www.kooth.com.
BUT as we appreciate this period can be a challenge for you too, did you know that
there was similar support in place for Parents & Carers across Cornwall too?
Qwell.io is a safe, free & anonymous online mental health service available for adults.
Fully funded and endorsed by the NHS Cornwall & IOS Integrated Care Board in effort
to provide access to early intervention and mental health support, it has been
commissioned for adults aged 18 – 25 and ALL parents and carers in Cornwall.
Adults can access Qwell.io for free. It is accredited by the British Association for
Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and delivered by Kooth Digital Health, the
UKs largest digital mental health provider.

With no waiting lists, no referrals and no thresholds for accessing support, adults can
access personalised support & self-help tools, alongside a team of BACP accredited
counsellors. Qwell’s qualified therapists are online 365 days a year. Monday to Friday,
from midday until 10pm and on weekends, 6pm until 10pm.

Similarly to the young person’s service www.kooth.com, there is no threshold, waiting
list or referral process. Adults can access support for ANY issues they may be
experiencing with no judgement. These may include but are not limited to; stress &
anxiety, self-esteem, bereavement, family breakdown, substance misuse, cost of living
concerns, suicidal thoughts, friendships, work related stress etc.

Kooth Digital Health delivers 1000’s of counselling sessions each year in Local
Authorities across the UK. As 50% of referrals to CAMHS are deemed inappropriate to
their criteria, Kooth gives schools, professionals and families an alternative way of
ensuring they can access free support when they need it, in a way that they find
comfortable to access, via internet enabled devices. It is great that Cornwall is now able
to offer a similar avenue of support for adults, too.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss what Qwell.io or Kooth.com can
offer, please, simply email parents@kooth.com