Shropshire Parent And Carer Council

BeeU Service Update

16/04/2024

We are now able to share an update on the BeeU emotional wellbeing and mental health service, which plays an important role in supporting children, young people, and their families. As parent carers of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), you’ll find this information particularly relevant.

What is BeeU?

The BeeU service is commissioned by NHS Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin and delivered by the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT). Its primary focus is on emotional wellbeing and mental health for children and young people aged 0 to 25. Here’s what BeeU offers:

  1. Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Services: BeeU provides a range of services to support children and young people facing emotional challenges. Whether it’s anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, BeeU is there to help.
  2. Neurodevelopmental Assessments:
    • Autism Assessments: For children aged 5 to 18, BeeU offers assessments to identify and support those with autism.
    • ADHD Assessments: For children aged 6 to 18, BeeU assesses and provides interventions for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
  3. Community Eating Disorder Services:
  4. BeeU extends its support to children and young people up to the age of 18 who are dealing with eating disorders.

Enhancements for 2024/25

Recognizing the growing demand for mental health services, BeeU is enhancing its offerings for the year ahead. Here’s what you can expect:

  1. Increased Capacity:
    • From April 2024, MPFT will expand the BeeU team by recruiting more registered mental health professionals. This step aims to reduce waiting times for assessments and ensure timely access to intervention.
    • The goal is to provide the right help, in the right place, at the right time.
  2. Prevention and Early Intervention:
  3. BeeU will collaborate with Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools. These teams work closely with school staff to identify vulnerable pupils early and provide targeted support.
  4. MHSTs are already active in nearly 50% of schools across the county, facilitating access to specialist services.
  5. A new MHST team has already started operating in South Shropshire.
  6. Funding has been secured for an additional MHST team, scheduled to begin operations in January 2025.
  7. BeeU is committed to reaching more children and young people in the community.
  8. BeeU is partnering with SYA and other voluntary and community sector organizations.
  9. Together, they will provide emotional wellbeing services directly to children in schools and local communities across Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin.
  10. Extended Reach:
  11. Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership:

For more detailed information, visit the refreshed BeeU website.

 

What does this mean to us as a family within the SEND community though?

PACC feel that these changes are positive steps towards improving the offer available and the experience of accessing and awaiting assessments of need. But for many families the biggest and most impactful changes are:

  • Single assessment pathway for Neurodivergent Needs – this means that one referral form is completed describing needs  as they are experienced at home, at school, and in social environments. This can also be completed by families and shared with school to help fill in any gaps and then passed to BeeU via a referrer (professional service such as school, GP, Early Help etc).
  • Welcome & Care support improvements – Following the introduction of two associate psychologists, BeeU have now got capacity to make more regular contact with families who are awaiting assessment. Thy provide an update on waiting times and can offer signposting and support to ensure that while you wait you are able to meet your childs needs as best as possible.
  • Waiting list management – to help manage the unprecedented volumes of assessments required in Shropshire, BeeU have commissioned extra support from Helios to deliver online assessments for those who needs meet a criteria that make an online assessment an appropriate offer. For families where there are more complex or less clear needs (where it is possible that autism or ADHD diagnosis may not be the appropriate outcome), a face to face assessment is preferred so you may not be offered the Helios alternative.

What is clear is that BeeU are much more aware of the challenges families are reporting and are trying to respond to them. While there is a lot of frustration in the community about the challenges families experience in accessing help and support when children start to demonstrate Neurodivergent Needs, most of these challenges stem from the limited awareness, understanding, and support available in schools. There is also the challenge of excessive waiting times for needs assessments, which has been made worse by the confusion surrounding communications making it clear when people are accepted on to the assessment waiting lists. Historically this has led to extremely poor experiences, but we do feel that the new initiatives will go some way to making improvements now and for the future.

 

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