The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families is a world-leading mental health charity for children and families.

The Anna Freud Centre (AFC) believe that by working with communities and professionals, we can scale up our mental health support for millions of infants, children, young people, and their families, and deliver timely evidence-based support for all.

Visit: Anna Freud website

AFC crisis messenger service

The AFC crisis messenger text service is a free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or is struggling to cope. The service is staffed by trained volunteers who will work with you to take your next steps towards feeling better.

The AFC can help with issues such as:

• anxiety
• worry
• panic attacks
• bullying
• depression 

AFC are here to talk at any time of day or night. If you need support, text AFC to 85258.

Whether you're struggling with confidence, bullying, health or your wellbeing, there is lots of support available to young people living in Worcestershire.

The teams at the Starting Well Partnership can support you with lots of different things and if required, they will help you to access support from other services in your area.

There are 6 teams working out of family hubs located in districts across the county. They can offer support to you if you are struggling with:

• confidence
• bullying
• health
• sexuality
• identity
• your well-being

Visit: Starting Well Worcestershire

Traumatically bereaved children and young people experience significant distress and difficulties, over and above a more typical grief. Traumatic bereavement can be easily missed or misunderstood by parents, teachers and even bereavement practitioners, meaning that children’s difficulties are not recognised. 

The UK Trauma Council has free evidence-based resources to support schools, colleges and practitioners, parents and carers working with traumatically bereaved children and young people.

Visit: 

• UK Trauma Council

More resources:

• Beacon House
• Trauma Informed Schools

For resources and advice about online safety, see: Keeping your child safe online

Online sexual harassment

The Children’s Commissioner has a guide for parents and carers on online sexual harassment and how they can support children to stay safe online, see: 

• Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents

The guide focuses on issues such as:

• easily accessed online pornography
• pressure to send nude pictures
• sexualised bullying
• editing pictures and body image
• peer pressure

We hope that this guide will serve as a useful starting point to raise awareness and understanding of online harassment.

Find out about other support available:

• 70 Strategies this is a valuable tool designed by Barnsley Council to help those who support young people to offer the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding needed for high quality support, sensitive interventions and improving outcomes
• Action for Happiness - includes downable calendars to help find joy, happiness and kindness each day
• The Attachment Research Community (ARC)  - supports the development of best attachment and trauma aware practice in education
• The Centre for Child Mental Health
• Motional - a suite of evidence-based, easy-to-use tools designed to measure, positively impact, and report on emotional health across the whole school or setting
• The Parents Guide - provides parents and carers with the information they need at GCSE and sixth form to help their teenage children create successful futures
• Place 2 be - improving children's mental health
• Explore your emotions colouring book (Social worker toolbox)