About the Emotional Health Academy (EHA)

Our vision is to ensure children and young people with emotional health difficulties receive early support, in order to prevent issues escalating and to reduce the impact on their lives.

Issues can include low mood, anxiety, self-harm, anger, bullying, friendships and eating or image problems. We also provide support and advice around confidence and general wellbeing.

The EHA was established by West Berkshire Council in 2016 in partnership with Health and Education Services. We draw on funding from the council, Clinical Commissioning Groups, public health and schools.

The EHA works alongside CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service) and the MHST (Mental Health Support Team), which was set up in a number of West Berkshire schools in 2019, to ensure a holistic approach to children's mental health at school.

The EHA is funded by schools, West Berkshire Council, and other agencies, including Clinical Commissioning Groups and Public Health and Wellbeing.
 

What is emotional health?

Emotional health is a broad term for feelings and emotions. Common signs of poor emotional health include anxiety and stress, feeling irritable, sad or low most of the time, struggling with attention and concentration, or self-harm. It can also be associated with problems with friendships and relationships or self-image.

Many people experience poor emotional health at some point in their life, with 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health problem in any given year (WHO, 2017). The best evidence shows that effective early interventions can improve children's life chances at any point during childhood and teenage years.

Everyone is affected differently and we believe it is important children and young people can access support and care that is tailored to their needs.
 

Our services

The Emotional Health Academy offers a variety of services:

Traded service for schools

The EHA Traded Service for Schools provides Emotional Health Workers to work in schools with children and young people experiencing emotional health difficulties, on a one-to-one or in groups. There are separate traded offers for West Berkshire Schools and out-of-area schools.
 

EHA Support Service

The EHA Support Service is a team of Primary Mental Health Workers who assess and provide CBT based support for young people and parents including one-to-one support and group sessions. This support is accessed via a recommendation from the Emotional Health Triage service.
 

Emotional Health Triage

The Emotional Health Triage is a free service which accepts referrals for children and young people in West Berkshire. As part of the triage process a multi-agency panel discusses more complex referrals. Each case is then referred or signposted to the most appropriate local service to meet their needs.
 

EHA Consultancy Service

The EHA Consultancy Service advises Clinical Commissioning Groups and councils on setting up their own EHA and/or Emotional Heath Triage.
 

EHA Community Outreach

EHA Community Outreach delivers a range of programmes in the community for parents and young people, including workshops around anxiety, behavioural difficulties and emotional wellbeing.
 

Download our 'About the EHA' [588KB]  leaflet