Mental health support in Greater Manchester: If you need help in a crisis, no matter what it is – we’re here to help

We know things may be difficult at the moment. If you find yourself feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed there’s support out there for you. Find mental health support where you live:  https://hub.gmhsc.org.uk/mental-health/in-your-area

Local helplines. If you feel you need mental health support, urgent or otherwise, you can contact your locality helpline or the mental health trust phone numbers in your crisis support plan. They will connect you to practical support with voluntary sector and statutory health and social care services

Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale - 0300 330 9073

24/7 support. If you feel you need more urgent mental health support and don’t feel able to contact your locality helpline for any reason please dial 111. They will link you to the right level of support that you need.

Free digital resources

Shout – all age

With this 24/7 crisis text messaging service you can send a text message any time of day or night wherever you are – every conversation is with a human being.

Just text GM to 85258

· You don’t need an app or data

· There’s no registration process

· It’s silent and won’t appear on your phone bill

· Confidential and anonymous.

Kooth - children and young people aged 11 to 18yrs

You can:

· Chat to their friendly counsellors

· Read articles written by young people

· Get support from the Kooth community: kooth.com

SilverCloud – aged 16yrs+

On online programmes for adults to help ease your levels of stress, sleep better or to build resilience. You can choose to use any of the programmes. They are self-help, confidential and secure. Instant access to self-help support: GM.silvercloudhealth.com/signup

Living Life To The Full

Living Life To The Full delivers online courses for people affected by low mood, anxiety or depression using cognitive behavioural therapy concepts. Materials have been designed to boost individual’s ability to live well by improving feelings and beating stress. Available online and totally free of charge for Greater Manchester residents Instant access to self-help support: www.hub.gmhsc.org.uk/mental-health/living-life-to-the-full

You can also find information, resources and other places you can get help and support on our website and information about your local mental health and wellbeing services https://hub.gmhsc.org.uk/mental-health/covid-19-resources

How to support home learning

Be realistic about what you can do

You're not expected to become teachers and your children aren't expected to learn as they do in school. Simply providing your children with some structure at home will help them to adapt. Experiment, then take stock. What's working and what isn't? Ask your children, involve them too. Share the load if there are 2 parents at home. Split the day into hour slots. Take care of your own health and wellbeing. This will be new for your entire household, so give it time to settle.

Keep to a timetable wherever possible

Create and stick to a routine if you can. This is what children are used to. For example, eat breakfast at the same time and make sure they're dressed before starting the ‘school’ day – avoid staying in pyjamas! Involve your children in setting the timetable where possible. It’s a great opportunity for them to manage their own time better and it’ll give them ownership. Check in with your children and try to keep to the timetable, but be flexible. If a task/activity is going well or they want more time, let it extend where possible. If you have more than 1 child at home, consider combining their timetables. For example, they might exercise and do maths together – see what works for your household. Designate a working space if possible, and at the end of the day have a clear cut-off to signal school time is over. Stick the timetable up on the wall so everyone knows what they should be doing when, and tick activities off throughout the day. Distinguish between weekdays and weekends, to separate school life and home life.

Make time for exercise and breaks throughout the day

Start each morning with a PE lesson at 9am with Joe Wicks. If you have a garden, use it regularly. If you don’t, try to get out once a day as permitted by the government (households can be together outdoors but 2 metres apart from others). Other activities to keep children engaged throughout the day. Where you have more freedom in the timetable, make time for other activities. Add some creative time or watch a dance video from Go Noodle to get the heart-rate going. Get your children to write postcards to their grandparents or to pen pals. Ask grandparents to listen to your children read on FaceTime (or ask grandparents to read to younger children). Give them chores to do so they feel more responsible about the daily routine at home. Ask them to help you cook and bake. Accept that they'll probably watch more TV/spend time on their devices – that's ok but set/agree some screen time limits