Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)
What is New River College (NRC) PRU
NRC offers education from Primary to Secondary aged students and is based over three sites:
�&苍产蝉辫;New River College Primary PRU (Cloudesley Square), for pupils of primary age (5-11 years)
�&苍产蝉辫;New River College Secondary PRU (Lough Road), for pupils in Key Stage 3 and 4 (11-17 years)
�&苍产蝉辫;New River College Medical PRU for pupils with significant medical or mental health needs
Why is CAMHS in New River College
�&苍产蝉辫;It helps the pupils get to know the clinicians in their school setting
�&苍产蝉辫;Parents and carers can access the help in the school setting
�&苍产蝉辫;It means the clinicians can easily observe the young people in the school context, day to day, and understand their needs
�&苍产蝉辫;It helps the clinicians develop more useful insights about how to support both the pupils, and the staff teaching them
Our small team is made up of clinical psychologists, child and adolescent psychotherapists and a clinical nurse specialist.
Why children and families come to see us
Young people who come to NRC arrive for different reasons, but may have struggled with the pace of the work, keeping to the rules about behaviour, or the size of classes or year groups in mainstream school. Some may have found their previous school environment overwhelming or emotionally distressing. Some young people arriving at NRC can feel they have been 憇ingled out� or treated unfairly in the past and that they have not been understood in previous schools.
There are lots of different reasons why pupils at NRC and their parents or carers see someone from the CAMHS in PRU team. Some examples of the kind of things we try and help children, young people (and their families) with include:
�&苍产蝉辫;Depression, low mood or feeling 慺lat�
�&苍产蝉辫;Low self-esteem
�&苍产蝉辫;Anxieties, worries or panic attacks
�&苍产蝉辫;Angry feelings or outbursts of anger
�&苍产蝉辫;Difficulties with learning
�&苍产蝉辫;Problems paying attention or concentrating
�&苍产蝉辫;Finding it hard to keep to rules or boundaries
�&苍产蝉辫;Family relationship difficulties
�&苍产蝉辫;Problems getting on with other young people or adults
�&苍产蝉辫;Hurting or upsetting other people
�&苍产蝉辫;Behaving in dangerous or 憆isky� ways
�&苍产蝉辫;Being upset about difficult things that have happened in the past
Some of the reasons parents and carers ask for our help include:
�&苍产蝉辫;Wanting to understand their child or young person抯 behaviour
�&苍产蝉辫;Finding out how best to support them at home and school
�&苍产蝉辫;Strengthening the relationship with their child or young person and improving family relationships
�&苍产蝉辫;Talking through their own worries which might be affecting their child or young person
�&苍产蝉辫;Getting help with talking to and communicating with other professionals and service
How we can help
Our specialist team offers help to young people and their families in a variety of ways. As the team are based in the PRU sites, you will have the opportunity to meet a member of the team very early on, as part of the induction process to NRC.
�&苍产蝉辫;How the difficulties might have come about
�&苍产蝉辫;Whether some treatment or further assessment would be appropriate
Based on the assessment, the following types of help might be offered:
�&苍产蝉辫;Individual therapy with the child/young person
�&苍产蝉辫;Parent-child therapy
�&苍产蝉辫;Family therapy
�&苍产蝉辫;Parenting support and strategies
�&苍产蝉辫;Group work/social skills
�&苍产蝉辫;Psychiatric consultations/medication support
�&苍产蝉辫;Further specialist assessments and screening for Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other conditions
�&苍产蝉辫;Cognitive assessments
�&苍产蝉辫;State of mind assessments
Support offered to New River College staff:
�&苍产蝉辫;Staff consultations and individual case discussions
�&苍产蝉辫;Training around understanding and managing behaviour
�&苍产蝉辫;Support with applications for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
�&苍产蝉辫;Attendance at Team around the Child (TAC) and Team Around the School (TAS) Meetings
�&苍产蝉辫;Help with individual pupil Transition Plans
Our specialist team also participate regularly in professional network meetings, to share their understanding of how the child or young person is doing, what their needs are, and how they can most appropriately be supported.
How to get in touch
If you have questions or would like to hear more about the CAMHS in PRU team, please do get in touch. The best way to contact us is via the Head of Centre at your child抯 NRC school.
If you are starting at NRC or your child is, a CAMHS introduction meeting will be scheduled as part of your induction, so please take this opportunity to meet with and discuss any concerns with the CAMHS clinician.
If your child is already at NRC and you would like to meet with one of us, please ask the Head of Centre to put us in touch.