Find your starting point
Choose the role closest to yours. Each section shows where to begin, what to read next and one practical action to try.
Find your starting point
Ten settings, ten starting points. Tap the one closest to your role for a brief guide on adapting the toolkit and a Start now action.
Families asked for things to do together, not just things to read.
Start with the four steps for a hard day in Chapter 9, family connection journeys in Chapter 18 and the trust map in Chapter 7. When the system itself feels difficult to navigate, the plain-language Family Navigator in Chapter 19 holds the guide.
Start now: Tonight, ask: “Do you need a hug, or do you need some space?” Then accept the answer.
Families told us the hard part is often not teaching. It is navigating the system.
Start with the options and legal basics in Chapter 22, exams guidance in Chapter 23 and finding other families through Chapter 24. When you need a service or school to respond, the Family Navigator’s rights guidance is in Chapter 21.
Start now: Read the plain-language legal basics in Chapter 22.
You are among the adults young people see most often.
Start with the six principles in Chapter 2, confidentiality in Chapter 4, understanding young people’s needs in Chapter 6 and discipline, safety and repair in Chapter 9.
Start now: Greet each child by name and with warmth at the door. One young person told us the greeting alone “contributes to me having a better day”. Add a two-minute movement break where you can.
Use the toolkit as a practical reference that can support your existing work.
Start with the six principles in Chapter 2, transitions in Chapter 11 and handovers and joined-up working in Chapter 12.
Start now: Add the five-minute checklist from Chapter 3 to the start of every session for one month.
The conditions this toolkit relies on are often within your influence.
Start with workforce wellbeing in Chapter 13, the wider system asks in Chapter 15 and joined-up support in Chapter 12.
Start now: Ask: “What protected thinking time do we give frontline staff?” Choose one practical change to make.
Faith spaces are often a first point of support for families who may not feel well served by current services.
Start with the six principles in Chapter 2, confidentiality in Chapter 4 and family, culture and wellbeing in Chapter 6.
Start now: Open the directory in Chapter 17 before the next family asks where they can find support.
Connection is central to your work, and this toolkit can support those conversations.
Start with the Five Ways to Wellbeing check-in in Chapter 7, the six principles in Chapter 2 and local options in the directory in Chapter 17.
Start now: Use the Five Ways to Wellbeing check-in in Chapter 7 to structure your next first conversation.
The toolkit is designed to complement your work, not replace it.
Start with the toolkit introduction in Chapter 1, the six principles in Chapter 2, the Mental Health Services Passport in Chapter 11 and understanding needs and the racialised referral gap in Chapter 6.
Start now: Ask this in your next session: “What would you like a new adult to know about you?”
Alternative Provision is education arranged outside a mainstream school. Young people in these settings may have experienced exclusion, disrupted education or repeated transitions.
Start with confidentiality in Chapter 4, understanding needs in Chapter 6, discipline, safety and repair in Chapter 9 and transitions in Chapter 11.
Start now: Bring the “Am I curious?” prompts from Chapter 8 into your next team meeting.