Place 2 Be

Place2Be is a charity that works within schools across the country supporting the wellbeing of the whole school community.

It has been a part of North Ealing School since 2015 and is run by Liz Waterhouse who is a child and adolescent counsellor. Four counsellors on placement work alongside her to deliver weekly sessions for some children. Watch a short video about Place2Be.

“Parts of me felt they had gone missing. I hoped coming here would help me and it did.”
Year 3 child

What difference does Place2Be make in your child’s school?

Place2Be is a national charity working in over 350 UK schools to improve the confidence and emotional wellbeing of children.

We help children to develop resilience by supporting them when they are experiencing challenging life issues and helping them to develop self-confidence and lifelong coping skills. When they are supported in this way, they are able to learn more easily and that means less worry for parents.

How we help children

All pupils can find help with friendship issues and other worries by choosing to visit Place2Talk.

One of the most widely used parts of the service is Place2Talk. Pupils can ask for an appointment to talk about a worry by posting a request in one of the Place2Be ‘letterboxes’ around the school. They can then come alone or with a friend to speak to Liz.

If needs be, they can be referred on for one to one counselling. Parents and carers can also make contact if they have a concern about their child or just want a confidential space for themselves.

These short lunchtime sessions are open to individuals and to groups. Place2Be also works with children one-to-one and in small groups, offering regular time-tabled support for those who will benefit most. The school will often refer children for this service.

Parents can request to withdraw their children from P2Talk by emailing the school office or Liz directly.

How we help families

A Place for Parents is an opportunity for you to come and talk about the things that are concerning you as a parent/carer, with a qualified counsellor. Counselling sessions will be held at the same time and in the same place each week, for 50 minutes, and you will be offered up to 10 sessions. There is an assessment process to decide which support will be the most helpful/appropriate.

There are 2 types of intervention:

1. Counselling sessions to discuss concerns.
2. Personalised Individual Parenting Training (PIPT).

What is parenting training?

• Parenting training works by directly coaching parents/carers in how to interact differently with their children
• Parents/carers are offered between 6-10 sessions and their child will join them for some of each session
• Whilst the therapist may bring ‘expert’ knowledge to the sessions, parents/carers know their child best, so that the two work collaboratively in sessions
• This is a supportive programme – Parents/carers are praised for things that they are already doing which effectively manage their children’s behaviour, and suggestions are made in those areas where they feel that they have become ‘stuck’
• Parent training is not just talking – it is an active process of learning new skills. In the sessions, you practise these skills with your child present and the therapist talking to you and making suggestions
• Parents can then take these skills and practise them at home
• Usually, rapid changes are seen in the relationship between parents/carers and their children

The basic principles of parenting training

• Much of a child’s difficult behaviour is learned.
• Therefore, difficult behaviour can also be unlearned.
• We can improve children’s behaviour by;
  • increasing their friendly and co-operative behaviour
  • decreasing their unfriendly and uncooperative behaviour

So, catch your child being good and give them lots of attention and praise!

How we help schools

Place2Be also supports teachers and school staff members to think through the emotional needs of children and advises and supports the school leadership which helps the whole school to thrive.

How Place2Be works

There is a special Place2Be room inside the school where children can go to express and think about their worries, through talking, creative work and play.

Adults that are qualified to work therapeutically, called School Project Managers, support this process, helping children to find new ways of coping with difficulties so they don’t get in the way of friendships or learning.

One of the most widely used parts of the service is Place2Talk. Pupils can ask for an appointment to talk about a worry by posting a request in one of the Place2Be ‘letterboxes’ around the school. They can then come alone or with a friend to speak to a counsellor. If needs be, they can be referred on for one to one counselling.

Times when we’re especially useful

There are times when children feel particularly sad, confused, fearful or angry, due to, for example, family challenges such as separation or illness, or even the death of a much-loved pet.

Some children may become withdrawn; others may become demanding or challenging in their behaviour: that’s when having Place2Be in school is especially helpful.