Place2Be

Did you know?

1 in 5 children and young people in the UK now have a probable mental health condition, and many continue to experience these problems into adulthood.

What we do

Place2Be is the leading children’s mental health charity providing support to children in schools across England, Scotland, and Wales. We believe that every child should have easy access to mental health support whenever they need it.

We work to improve the mental wellbeing of children, families, and school communities. We create safe spaces to allow children and young people to open up about their worries, enabling them to build lifelong coping skills and emotional resilience to deal with life’s challenges and thrive.

How we support young people

There is still a lot of stigma around having a mental health problem and asking for help, and Place2Be has been working for 30 years to improve attitudes towards mental health, starting within communities. This work means children grow up feeling more comfortable reaching out.

A 7-year-old supported by Place2Be said “It is the best service, I love it. It helps me calm down especially when I get that nervous feeling in my tummy; it goes away when I talk about it”

We provide lots of different services in schools including:

• One-to-one counselling
• Work with groups about issues like friendships and self-esteem
• Group programmes using art and discussion to explore feelings, identity and relationships
• Training and learning for school staff and families to ensure the whole school community is positively affected
• Advice and support for parents

Our impact

In 2023 Place2Be worked with 520 schools, reaching over 298,000 children and young people.

An evaluation of Place2Be’s services and the children and young people we supported found that:

• 75% of children and young people with severe difficulties showed an improvement in wellbeing
• 68% of children and young people found it easier to have friends
• 65% of children and young people caused fewer problems for their teacher/class