Our work in Scotland

Learn more about our work in Scotland, including our in-school mental health support in Scottish schools and expert mental health training for school staff.

Our approach to children and young people's mental health is to intervene early to prevent life-long mental health issues. This approach complements Scotland's Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which states that we should focus activity and funding on early intervention to minimise poor mental health.

On this page, you can find out about our work in Scotland, including:

in-school mental health support
mental health training and consultations for schools
support for student teachers
counselling placements for child counselling trainees
our collaborations with other organisations in Scotland.

In-school mental health support

Our in-school mental health support is based on a whole-school approach to mental health and focuses on intervening early. Support includes:

drop-in sessions and one-to-one counselling for struggling pupils that build resilience through talking, creative work and play (Place2Talk)
whole-class and group work on mental health and wellbeing
support and training for parents and carers
guidance and mental health support for school staff.

Find out how we can help your school

Training and consultations for schools

We offer a variety of training and consultation services for school staff, including:

a comprehensive Senior Mental Health Leads programme based on a whole-school approach to mental health
an online mental health training course, free for teachers, school staff and others that work with children and young people
reflective supervision sessions for education professionals to help them support positive mental health in their school communities (Place2Think).

Support for student teachers

We partner with Moray House of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow School of Education to support student teachers in creating mentally healthy classrooms - reaching over a quarter of new student teachers in Scotland.

Our Initial Teacher Education services aim to strengthen students' understanding and knowledge of children and young people's mental health. Services include:

providing a therapeutic space where students can reflect on their practice, their pupils' mental health and their own wellbeing (Place2Think)
delivering lectures and seminars to help students improve their understanding of child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing.

I’ve engaged with several counsellors over the years, but the support I received from Place2Be blew me away. The clinician's ability to offer compassion, challenge, humour, and encouragement was powerful. Everyone should have access to a Place2Be when doing a course that demands so much. Student teacher at Moray House School of Education and Sport

Read the full evaluation of our partnership with Moray House

Counselling Placements

Our counselling placements in schools allow us to work with children and young people in a safe therapeutic setting. Since January 2022:

70 Counsellors on Placement have started placements in partner schools in Scotland
30 Counsellors on Placement have started onboarding for the 2023-24 school year.

Discover our Counselling Placements

Our collaborations with other organisations in Scotland

We work with a variety of organisations in Scotland to extend our reach and help more children, young people and student teachers achieve their potential.

LGBT Youth Scotland

We've achieved the Gold Charter Mark Award with LGBT Youth Scotland, which will help us proactively include LGBTQ+ people in every aspect of our work, protecting our team and providing a high-quality service to the children, young people and families we help.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

We support the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), an international human rights treaty. All of our Scottish team have completed the Scottish Government’s UNCRC training.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland

We're recognised as a General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) Learning Award organisation. This award celebrates that we support and promote teacher professional learning.

The Promise Scotland

We’re working with the Promise Scotland to help keep the promise made to care experienced children and young people in Scotland. Through Promise Partnership funding, awarded by the Corra Foundation, we’re providing multi-disciplinary reflective supervision spaces for professionals around the child in Dundee and Glasgow.

Youth Scotland

With support from the STV Appeal, we are partnering with Youth Scotland to offer our Mental Health Champions – Foundation course to youth workers in Scotland. The course enhances their understanding of mental health and introduces them to approaches to foster positive wellbeing.

Moray House of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh

Our embedded clinician at Moray House supports student teachers by providing a Place2Think therapeutic space to reflect on their own practice and their own mental health. We also deliver lectures to improve understanding of children and young people's mental health.

School of Education at the University of Glasgow

Our embedded clinician at the School of Education supports students to reflect on their own practice and mental health and supports their knowledge and understanding of children and young people's mental health.

The Fostering Network

Thanks to funding from the STV Appeal, we are partnering with the Fostering Network to provide our Parenting Smart Online Course to foster carers of primary-age children in Scotland, giving them extra tools to strengthen their relationship with the children in their care.