Our impact and evidence
Our evidence-led approach helps children and young people suffering severe mental health difficulties - bringing positive changes during a crucial formative point in their young lives.
Achievements in 2021/22
Bridge in Schools has an established track record of high quality services and effective results. We work with children experiencing multiple disadvantages through very high levels of mental health difficulty, behavioural issues, special educational needs, and other vulnerabilities.
Last year (2021/22), our impact across Bristol and the Southwest included:
children and young people helped
clinical sessions offered
partner schools supported throughout the year
additional schools given ad hoc support
Following Bridge in Schools therapeutic interventions, children show
Increased ability to think about and manage difficult feelings
Improved relationships with both peers and adults
Better emotional resilience and greater self-confidence
We help to stabilise and improve the mental health of children and young people with complex needs where mainstream support is inaccessible or unavailable
The impact
The data we collect shows consistent improvements in children’s emotional and behavioural symptoms, following therapy. This includes reductions in:
Emotional Symptoms
Conduct Difficulties
Hyperactivity/Inattention
Peer relationship problems
Partner with us to provide early intervention support for vulnerable children.
How we evaluate success
The positive impacts of psychotherapy on children and young people with mental health difficulties and trauma are well-established and widely recognised.
We have developed the successful Bridge in Schools model during 12 years of working within the school environment; collecting results across a range of established clinical outcomes measures and using these to work in highly targeted ways.
Our established data set shows that we continue to make a consistently positive impact on children’s wellbeing despite rising levels of mental health severity and complexity:
Results also show that school staff are more confident in supporting pupils with complex needs and parents are more able to understand and respond to the needs of their children.
The Bridge are leaders in child and family mental health
Why it matters
Our own experience and data show steady increases in childhood mental health issues over the last 10 years, especially in areas of socio-economic disadvantage.
1 in 6
children found to have clinically diagnosable mental health problems (NHS 2020)
up 50%
clinically significant mental health conditions since 2017 (NHS 2020)
50%
long-term mental health problems begin before age 14*
Covid-19
heavy impact on young people suffering pre-existing disadvantages (Mind 2021)
With the right support, children’s lives can be brought back on track.
*Kessler et al, Archives of General Psychiatry 2005
What schools and families say
Get in touch
Please get in touch if you have any requests regarding our services or questions.
