Service : Mental Health Support Service (Berkshire West) for children and young people

Service overview

The Mental Health Support Teams support children and young people aged 5 to 18, and their families, who are experiencing mild or moderate mental health difficulties. This might include feeling low, worried, or anxious, and may be affecting their day-to-day life.

These teams operate in selected schools across Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire. This includes pupils on the roll of Virtual School for Children, looked after children, and young people who are not in employment or education (NEET).

Each of these schools will have an assigned educational mental health practitioner (EMHP). Depending on the age of the child or young person, the practitioner will work directly with them or with their parents.

We also work with school staff and offer a range of support to help the school develop and support a whole-school approach to mental health.

Before starting individual or group work we start with an initial assessment to understand the child or young person’s needs. Based on this, we may offer up to eight sessions of evidenced based support. These could be one-to-one sessions, guided self-help, or parent-led programmes, depending on the child’s age and what’s most helpful.

For those under 12, our clinicians offer parent-led and guided self-help interventions. This could include - Helping Your Child with Fears and Worries, or the Incredible Years Parenting Programme.

For those over 12, our clinicians offer individual one-to-one CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) informed interventions. This could include - Worry Management, Graded Exposure, or Behavioural Activation.

If direct help is not needed, we will help you in finding the support options that we think will work best for you.

Make a referral

Accessing our service

Children, young people, and families (CYPF) can access MHST support primarily via their school.

Referrals can be made by a professional like a GP or teacher, or by a parent or carer. If you're aged 16 or over, you can refer yourself. We encourage referrals through schools wherever possible to ensure the right support is in place.

Once we receive a referral, our team will send a confirmation email to the person who submitted it.

The referral will then be triaged by the Mental Health Support Team, and we will share the outcome and next steps.

We may offer an initial assessment to understand the child or young person’s mental health needs. After that, we'll work together to decide what support might be most helpful. This might include direct support from our team or help accessing other local services.

To help us understand your child or young person’s needs fully, please ensure all parts of the referral form are completed before sending it to us. If you have any questions or need help filling out the form, please contact us at: camhswestmhsts@berkshire.nhs.uk.

Once a practitioner has been allocated, the identified practitioner will make contact via telephone or email to book in a suitable date and time for the initial assessment and discuss with you any reasonable adjustments required for you to attend.

Schools covered by East MHSTs

Bracknell

Ascot Heath Primary School
Binfield Church of England Primary School
Birch Hill Primary
Brakenhale (Greenshaw Learning Trust)
College Hall PRU
College Town Primary School
Crown Wood Primary (Greenshaw Learning Trust)
Crowthorne CE Primary School
Easthampstead Park
Edgebarrow School
Fox Hill Primary
Garth Hill
Great Hollands Primary (Maiden Erlegh Trust)
Harmans Water Primary
Holly Spring Primary School
Jennett's Park Cof E Primary School
Kennel Lane Special school
King's Academy Binfield (Kings Group Academy Trust)
Meadow Vale Primary School
Ranelagh School
Sandhurst School
Sandy Lane Primary
St Michael's Easthampstead Primary School
St Michael's Sandhurst CE Primary School
The Pines Primary
Uplands Primary School and Nursery
Wildmoor Health Primary School
Wildridings Primary
Wooden Hill Primary

Royal Borough of Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead (RBWM)

Achieving for Children Virtual School
Altwood CofE Secondary
Charters Secondary
Churchmead Secondary
Cox Green Secondary
Dedworth Middle
Holyport College
Larchfield Primary
Manor Green Special School
St Luke's Primary
Trevelyan Middle
Wessex Primary
Windsor Boys Secondary
Woodlands Park Primary
Wraysbury Primary

Slough

Baylis Court
Beechwood School
Cippenham School
Claycots primary
Colnbrook primary
Ditton Park
Godolphin Junior Academy
Grove academy
Haybrook
Herschel Grammar
Holy Family Catholic School
James Elliman
Langley Grammar
Langley Hall Primary Academy Lower and upper School
Littledown School
Lynchill Enterprise
Marish Primary School SEN provision
Montem Academy
NEET Provision (Not in Employment or Education
Pippins Primary School
Ryvers Primary School
Slough & Eton
Slough Virtual School
St Anthony’s primary
St Joseph’s Catholic High School
St Marys C of E Primary School
St Ethelbert's Catholic Primary School
The Langley Academy Secondary
The Langley Heritage Primary
The Priory
The Westgate School Secondary
Wexham Court Primary School
Wexham Secondary
Willow Primary

Schools covered by West MHSTs

Reading

Alfred Sutton
All Saints Church of England Aided Infant School
All Saints Junior
Battle Primary Academy
Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic
Caversham Park Primary School
Caversham Primary School
Christ the King
Churchend Primary Academy
Civitas Academy
Coley Primary
Cranbury College
E P Collier Primary School
Emmer Green Primary School
English Martyrs Catholic Primary
Geoffrey Fields Infants and Juniors
Green Park academy
Hamilton
Hartland High
Highdown School
Holybrook
Katesgrove
Kendrick School
Kings Academy Prospect
Maiden Erlegh Reading
Manor Primary
Meadow Park Academy
Micklands Primary School
Moorlands Primary
New Christ Church
New Town Academy
Oxford Road Community School
Palmer Academy
Park Lane Primary
Ranikhet Academy
Reading Girls School
Reading School
Redlands
River Academy
Southcote
St Anne's RC Catholic Primary School
St John's CofE (Aided) Primary School
St Martin's Catholic Primary School
St. Mary & All Saints
St. Michael's Primary
Thameside Primary School
The Avenue Special School
The Heights Primary School
The Hill Primary School
The Ridgeway academy
The Wren
UTC
Whitley Park
Wilson Primary

West Berkshire

Aldermaston C.E. Primary School
Beedon
Bradfield C.E
Brightwalton
Brimpton C.E
Bucklebury C.E
Burghfield St Mary's C.E Primary School
Chaddleworth St. A's
Chieveley
Cold Ash St Marks's
Compton
Curridge
Enborne C.E. Primary School
Falkland Primary School
Fir Tree Primary School
Francis Baily
Garlands Junior School
Hampstead Norrey's
Hermitage
Highwood Copse Primary School
Hungerford
Inkpen
John O'Gaunt
John Rankin Junior School
Kennet Secondary
Kintbury
Lambourn
Mortimer St John's C.E. Infant School
Mortimer St Mary's C.E. Junior School
Mrs Blands Infant & Nursery School
Park House School
Parsons Down
Robert Sandilands Primary School
Shaw-cum Donnington C.E. Primary School
Shefford C.E
Speenhamland Primary School
Spurcroft
St Bartholomew's School
St Finian's
St John The Evangelist Infant and Nursery School
St Josephs R.C. Primary School
St Nicolas C.E. Junior School
Stockcross C.E. School
Sulhamstead & Ufton Nervert C.E. Primary School
Thatcham Park
The Downs
The Ilsley
The Willows Primary School
The Winchcombe School
Trinity School
Welford & Wickham C.E. Primary School
Whitelands
Yattendon

Wokingham

All Saints 
Bearwood Primary 
Beechwood Primary 
Bulmershe Senior 
Chiltern Way Special School (primary) 
Chiltern Way Special School (secondary) 
Coombes Primary 
Emmbrook Senior 
Foundry (primary) 
Foundry (secondary) 
Gorse Ride Junior 
Hawkedon 
Hawthorns 
Highwood Primary 
Keep Hatch 
Lamb’s Lane Primary 
Loddon 
Maiden Erlegh 
Oakbank Senior 
Shinfield St. Mary’s Junior 
South Lake 
St Crispins 
St Paul’s Junior School 
The Forest 
The Holt 
Waingels College 
Whiteknights Primary 
Willow Bank Infant 
Windmill Primary 
Winnersh  
Woodley Primary

Preparing for an assessment

Before your appointment, we’ll send you and your parent or carer some questionnaires to fill in. These help us get a better idea of how things have been going for you.

You can send them back in advance or bring them with you on the day. Appointments usually take place at school; however they may take place at one of our NHS Trust sites, or a local authority family hub depending on where you live and your needs. Your practitioner will talk through the options with you during your first conversation.

Your appointment usually lasts one to one and a half hours. During the appointment, we’ll work together to understand how things have been going, what’s been difficult, and what you’d like help with. We’ll also ask you questions about your safety, as our top priority is to keep you safe and well.

Some people find it helpful to write down a few notes about how they’ve been feeling beforehand, to make it easier to talk things through. We usually like to meet with you and your parent or carer together, so we can understand things from everyone’s point of view.

Managing your health

Explore our CAMHS training for care professionals, designed to help recognise and support mental health challenges in children and young people. The weekly online modules offer practical, evidence‑based techniques and cognitive behavioural approaches.

CAMHS training offer

Your e-Health Passport

Your e-Health Passport lets us know what's important to you - from your preferred name and pronouns to how you'd like us to support you and communicate with you.

Learn more

Contact us and FAQs

Mental Health Support Service (West)

Contact number: 0300 2473 002 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

Email: camhswestmhsts@berkshire.nhs.uk

Frequently asked questions

What does the MHST do?

The MHST provides early intervention for mild to moderate mental health needs and works with schools to promote emotional wellbeing through workshops, assemblies, and group sessions.

Who can refer to the MHST?

Referrals are usually made through schools. Parents and carers can self-refer, but we encourage school involvement to ensure coordinated support.

What if my child is not in an MHST school?

Reading: All schools are covered by the MHST.

West Berkshire: Contact the Emotional Health Academy
Phone: 0163 550 3629
Email: emotional.health.academy@westberks.gov.uk

Wokingham: Contact the Emotional Wellbeing Hub
Phone: 0118 978 7252
Email: emotionalwellbeinghub@wokingham.gov.uk

What does whole school approach mean?

The MHST works closely with schools to promote emotional wellbeing through assemblies, workshops, and group work.

Examples include:

Primary Schools: Anxiety and resilience workshops for parents, transition support, assemblies on wellbeing, and group work on resilience and transition.
Secondary Schools: Anxiety and low mood workshops, exam preparation sessions, wellbeing assemblies, and peer mentoring initiatives.

Does your service do any training for staff and professionals?

We provide CAMHS training sessions such as:

Anxiety Unpacked
Supporting Young People with Low Mood
Suicide and Self-harm Awareness
World of Emotions

Find out more and book training or email CAMHSTraining@berkshire.nhs.uk.

We can also help you with

Is there any information for friends, family and carers?

If you’re a family member/carer or you look after someone, there’s practical, financial, and emotional support available to you from a range of local communities and national organisations.

How do I request an interpreter?

We can provide language translation and interpretation support whenever you visit or contact us.

Tell our staff which language you prefer to use, and we will make sure the right communication support is in place for your assessment and treatment. Please let us know as early as possible so we can ensure the appropriate translation or interpreting support is available.

We offer a range of professional services to ensure everyone can understand and be understood:

telephone interpreting
video remote interpreting (VRI)
face‑to‑face interpreting
written translation
British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting

How can I get information in an accessible format?

Anyone with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss has the right to receive information in a format that meets their needs. Under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)—a legal requirement for all health and adult social care providers—we must ensure that people who use our services, including carers and families, can understand the information we provide and communicate effectively with us.

We can offer information in a range of accessible formats, including:

British Sign Language (BSL)
large print
braille
audio
easy Read
email
text message
face‑to‑face support with a carer or advocate present

If you need information in any of these formats, please tell a member of our team and we will make sure your communication needs are met.

Are service dogs allowed to my appointment?

Yes. You are welcome to bring your registered service animal, such as a guide dog, hearing dog, medical alert dog, or other trained assistance dog to your appointment.

These animals are recognised as essential support and are permitted in most areas of our services.

To help us prepare, please let the team know before your appointment if you will be attending with a service animal. This allows us to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for you, your animal, and other patients.

Please note that service animals may not be able to enter certain restricted clinical areas for safety or infection‑control reasons, but we will always work with you to find an appropriate alternative.

Treating our team with respect.

Respect is important.

We will be polite and kind and we expect that you treat our staff in the same way.

Abuse, hate and discrimination against our staff is unacceptable.

We will take strong action against anyone who is verbally, racially, physically, or sexually abusive to them.

This includes contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.

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Mental Health Support Service (East Berkshire) for children and young people

Children & young people

Support for children and young people aged 5 to 18 with mild or moderate mental health difficulties attending selected schools.

Go to service

Getting Help Service (East Berkshire) for children and young people

Children & young people

Support for children and young people aged 5 to 18 with mild or moderate mental health difficulties who don’t attend an MHST school.

Go to service

Primary Mental Health Team 4 Youth

Children & young people

Support for children and young people aged 5 to 18 with mild or moderate mental health difficulties, and their families.

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Mental Health Service in GP Surgeries for children and young people

Children & young people

Support for under-18s with mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulties, and their families, available in selected GP surgeries.

Go to service

Common Point of Entry for children and young people

Children & young people

Also known as CAMHS CPE, reviews referrals for significant mental health difficulties to provide access to the right support.

Go to service

External support

Anna Freud

Anna Freud is a world-leading mental health charity that works with children and young people, their families, communities and mental health professionals to transform children and families' mental health.

Learn more

ARC

Provides free, confidential counselling to young people and adults in the Wokingham area.

Learn more

Autism Berkshire

Supports families in West Berkshire with free workshops and activities for those with a diagnosis of Autism, ADHD, or if you're on the waiting list for assessment.