Specialist SEMH Support

We recognise that children's social, emotional and mental health can have a significant impact on their wellbeing, relationships, behaviour and ability to learn.

We also know that behaviour is a form of communication and understanding what sits behind it is often the first step towards helping a child to succeed.

We are fortunate to have Martin Wilcock, our Specialist SEMH Mentor, working in school one day every week. Martin brings a wealth of experience and specialist expertise in behaviour and social, emotional and mental health, strengthening the support and guidance available to our children, families and staff.

Martin works closely with our pastoral and inclusion teams, providing direct support for children and families while also helping us to develop our whole-school approach. He works alongside staff to understand children's individual needs, identify the barriers that may be affecting their behaviour or learning and develop practical strategies that help children to be successful.

His work extends beyond individual children. Martin works directly with parents and carers, provides advice and guidance to staff and contributes to developing inclusive practice across Arden.

Having this specialist expertise in school every week means we can identify needs early, understand behaviour more deeply and put effective support around children and families – while building the knowledge and confidence of our own staff.

Martin works directly with children who may benefit from additional support with their social, emotional or mental health needs.

His work is tailored to the individual child and focuses on understanding what may be sitting behind a difficulty or behaviour, identifying barriers and helping children develop the strategies they need to participate successfully in school life.

This work complements the support children already receive from the adults who know them best at Arden.

Supporting a child often means supporting the adults around them too.

Martin works one-to-one with parents and carers, providing a space to talk through concerns, better understand their child's needs and explore practical approaches that may help at home and at school.

This is about working with families. We want parents to feel listened to, supported and part of the decisions we make around their child.

An important part of Martin's role at Arden is working directly with our parents and carers. Each month, Martin leads our Arden Community Café – a relaxed and welcoming opportunity for families to access specialist advice, ask questions and talk through anything that may be concerning them.

Each Community Café has a particular theme, with sessions covering areas such as behaviour, anxiety, social communication and attention difficulties. Martin shares practical strategies, ideas and problem-solving approaches that parents can take away and use to support their child's social and emotional development.

However, families don't have to come with a question about that month's theme. Every session also includes an informal drop-in opportunity, where parents and carers can ask Martin questions about any aspect of their child's behaviour, emotional wellbeing or development.

The sessions are deliberately informal – expert support, useful strategies, a good brew and biscuits. We want families to feel comfortable coming into school, starting conversations and asking for help before a concern becomes a bigger difficulty.

Community Café is also part of our commitment to working with families rather than simply offering support to children in isolation. By bringing together Martin's specialist knowledge and parents' understanding of their own children, we can develop consistent approaches between home and school and help children feel understood and supported in both.