Learn how our mental health support services make a difference to children and young people's lives in Scotland.

Many children, young people and families that we support in Scotland lead difficult and complex lives, with 23% of children living in poverty. This makes our support services even more vital as we try and reach the most vulnerable children and young people in society.

On this page, you can find out about:

• our reach in Scotland
• our impact in Scotland
• our future in Scotland.

To learn more about what work we do in Scotland, take a look at the Our work in Scotland page.

Our reach in Scotland

Place2Be Scotland in-school mental health support services create safe spaces that allow children and young people to open up about what's worrying them. Our team in Scotland provide:

• in-school mental health support services in over 60 primary and high schools
• support to a school community of 56,000 children and young people
• working in schools in up to 14 local authorities and delivering our Mental Health Champions – Foundation course in all 32.

Find out about our mental health support in schools

Children's mental health and poverty are highly linked. Public Health Scotland found that children in the lowest income households are four times more likely to experience mental health problems, with consequences extending into adulthood. A lot of the Scottish communities we work in face poverty and complex needs, including:

• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• South Ayrshire
• South Lanarkshire
• Renfrewshire
• Perth and Kinross
• Angus
• Highland
• Stirling
• Dundee City.

Find a Place2Be school near you

Our impact in Scotland's school communities

As part of our in-school mental health service, we offer one-to-one sessions with a trained counsellor to pupils struggling to cope. Our mental health professionals provide integrative support in these sessions, mixing different therapy techniques to help children and young people cope with their problems.

After children and young people have one-to-one counselling with Place2Be in Scotland:

• 73% of those with severe difficulties show an improvement in mental health
• 61% of children's difficulties had less impact on their learning
• 74% find it easier to have and keep friends.

Of the children and young people benefiting from one-to-one counselling with Place2Be in Scotland:

• 34% received free school meals
• 3% were the subject of a child protection order (CPO)
• 13% were reported to be on a CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) waiting list.

To help build confidence and knowledge about mental health in schools:

• 63 school leaders have completed our Senior Mental Health Leads programme, helping them develop a whole-school approach to mental health that benefits all members of their school community.
• 8,485 teachers and school staff took part in our Mental Health Champions - Foundation programme
• 1,400 teachers, school staff and other professionals joined our online community, the Place2Be Staffroom
• Over 90 student teachers are supported every year through Place2Think sessions as part of our Initial Teacher Education partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh
• 425 school staff were supported through Scottish Government-funded Place2Think reflective supervision during the pandemic. Following the sessions, 88% of staff said they were confident in managing their own health and wellbeing. Read the full evaluation of the impact of Place2Think.

Our future in Scotland

Our reach and impact statistics showcase how we are helping some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Scotland. Our mission is to improve children and young people's mental health, and we will continue to grow our work in Scotland to help us achieve this. Our priorities in Scotland include:

• increasing the number of children and young people that we support by working in partnership with local authorities to increase the number of schools we work in
• keeping the Promise to care experienced¹ children and young people (the outcome of the Independent Care Review) by strengthening collective understanding of reflective practice for all those who support children in care
• raising teachers’ awareness and understanding of children’s mental health by expanding our work in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and building on our existing partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh through a new partnership with University of Glasgow’s ITE programme
• evaluating our Senior Mental Health Leads programme in Scotland and helping it reach more school leaders by working with teams in the Scottish education system
• trialling Place2Be’s Parenting Smart Online Course with foster carers across Scotland through a partnership with The Fostering Network funded by STV’s Children’s Appeal.

Find out more

If you want to find out more about Place2Be's work supporting children and young people's mental health in Scotland:

• follow Place2Be Scotland team on Twitter @place2bescot
• contact our Scottish team by emailing scotland@place2be.org.uk.

¹ You can find a definition of 'care experienced' from the Promise.