Feedback from pupils who took part in a 7 - session anxiety group in May 2023:  

“Once you meet the practitioners, it is really easy to talk to them. ”

“I found the group fun, I learnt a lot about anxiety and how people can have different types of anxiety and different ways to control it.”  

“I felt comfortable talking and felt like no-one was going to judge me.”  

“The anxiety group is really good for people if they need help.”  

“At first I was nervous but after a few sessions I found it really helpful to go to the sessions as you can learn different things from it. ”  

“The role plays by the practitioners were really useful and easy to relate to. ”

“ I thought I knew everything about anxiety, but the group helped improve my knowledge. ”  

“ I would say the group has been life-changing for me, it has massively helped. ” 

“ I am now back doing the things I love, I never thought I would be able to do that again .”  

“ I felt comfortable in the group to share my worries, I never felt judged. ”

“ Everyone had a positive attitude about being in the group, it felt like a place I wanted to be for help not because I was told to join. ”

“I enjoyed everything because it helped me and now, I feel confident about secondary school.” 

— P upil who attended a year 6 ‘Moving to secondary school’ workshop.

“It helped me feel good about moving to secondary school and I will do my best.” 

— P upil who attended a year 6 ‘Moving to secondary school’ workshop.  

“I learnt about how to calm myself down if I am panicking over exams and revision. Breathing exercises and tense and relax body. ”

 — Pupil in y ear 11 who attended an ‘Overcoming anxiety for exams and coursework’ workshop.

“ I liked that it was very fun and made everybody happy and that they would share their worries. ”

— Pupil in year 7 who attended an Understanding Worries workshop.  

“It was very engaging and I Iearnt that other people have ways of calming down.”

— Pupil in year 7 who attended an Understanding Worries  workshop.    

“ My son struggles with anxiety which leads to refusal to go to school, refusal to go out with family members without us and refusal to try new things. The most useful thing I have learnt from OSI is the language to use to have important discussions with my son about his worries. What to say before an event that is worrying him, and how to talk about it after. The other day I caught my son using some of the things I had learnt with his little brother when he was worried about going to nursery! My son's anxiety has massively decreased in all areas. We still have some worries about trying new things and going out with family members, but we now have the language and tools to help at these times. My son will come to me to talk through his worries now. I would recommend this course to anyone with a child with anxieties. The regular check ins with a therapist really helped me to focus on the progress we were making each week. I have taken a lot from the course that I will continue to use when needed. Thank you for listening, your advice and ideas, and support with this journey . ”

— Parent, OSI intervention  

” I am delighted to say that [young person] has happily had play dates at a friend's house, he has attended holiday clubs with his brother and even on his own. He has overcome his fear of demonstrating his Jujitsu in front of his class, when they are team sparring. [Child] has also stopped coming home with complaints about classmates and seems much happier at school. The biggest thing he achieved last Friday was the school disco. We had absolutely no problems with him and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. I was so happy and proud. These things were all troublesome for [child] this time last year and it's such a relief to see him develop coping mechanisms and to also realise that life isn't actually scary . I think the combination of the OSI platform, with the regular telephone calls with [practitioner] were excellent and I really discovered a great deal about [child] and my own behaviours and managed to break down many barriers, through carefully curated reward step plans. I will continue to use the mechanisms for any future obstacles. ”

—  Parent , OSI intervention  

“I have found OSI and the whole process of weekly calls with [assistant psychologist] incredibly helpful. My son's anxiety has noticeably declined as a result and I feel much more confident about approaching him and working with him on any future concerns he may have. We worked together on a specific goal using the step plan and I have to say it as life changing.” 

— Parent , OSI intervention  

“I recently found out from another parent at s chool that they were also using OSI and we were both so excited to share our experiences of it together, saying how much it has helped with our children and their anxiety.”

— Parent , OSI intervention  

To increase OSI engagement across Kent and Medway Mental Health Support Teams, a poster template was co-created with the research team at OSI by one of our APs . The designed poster was made customisable for each team to include school specific information on how to access the service. Personalised posters have been sent out to all primary schools that receive Mental Health Support Team support in Kent & Medway.  

“I liked having some validation and reassurance. The information was helpful, and they made me feel comfortable to share.”

—  Parent who attended ‘Sleep and autism’ online workshop in June 2023. 

“I liked learning about different strategies to help with change and how to talk to your child in a positive way about secondary school.”

—  Parent who attended “starting secondary school’ online workshop in June 2023. 

“It was a really nicely presented and paced workshop." 

— Parent who attended “understanding resilience” online workshop in February 2023. 

“It was fantastic, so informative and great to have some strategies to start using straight away', so please pass on our thanks to the team.”

—  Parent who attended “understanding ADHD” online workshop in January 2024. 

“This has had a massive impact on us as a family as we are now able to just eat wherever and whenever we want without having to work out if it will cause [young person] to have a reaction. From a parent point of view, you have done an amazing job with [young person] and have made the stresses of our lives much easier.”

—  Parent, one-to-one evidence-based intervention offered to child and parent. 

“Thank you so much for creating a safety plan with me – that has helped a lot. I recognise the signs now when [young person] is feeling this way. I ask them if they’re okay and breath with me and tell them everything is going to be okay.”

— Parent 

“My son is happy that the team were in his new school, meaning he could access more support if needed. This has made a big difference in his worries about moving to secondary school.” 

— Parent 

“Lots of things to think about around my child starting Primary school and not just practical but emotional support too. Great presenters and lots of resources.”

—  Parent who attended a Starting Primary School workshop in a school.

 

“Thank you for all your support over the last year. We have really appreciated your collaborations and work coming into school for our families. I look forward to another year of partnership support with your services and team.”

—  Headteacher 

“I have noticed a real change in [young person], especially her mood. [Young person] seems really positive currently and focused. [Young person] is clearly able to use strategies given to manage and regulate her emotions which in turn has been beneficial to her school life. I hope [young person] is able to continue to use the strategies given to build further upon her progress already made. Thank you for your support for [young person].”

—  Teacher, regarding a young person who worked one-to-one with a practitioner for targeted CBT-informed support. 

“Just wanted to say thank you for the work you’ve done with [Young person]. She seems so much happier and overall, a happier girl. Really appreciate people like you and the job you do.”

— Teacher  

“I wanted to say thank you for last week for the meeting to discuss support at my school. We have had some really positive feedback – I think our staff want to employ you!” 

— Assistant Headteacher 

“I wanted to say a huge thank you for the wonderful work your team did during our summer camps… It’s a very important partnership for us and one we hope to be continuing into the future. We hugely value your professional support in the delivery of what we feel is such an invaluable resource to our families. The children were always visibly engaged during the workshops and our coaching team all commented on the positive impact that they witnessed on the children.” 

— Holiday Activities and Food Programme, Kent.