The first conversation: making sixth-form support reachable

Making the people behind support visible

On 9 October, Solihull Sixth Form College reported a health and wellbeing fair for Years 12 and 13. Alongside visiting organisations, the event highlighted its counselling, academic coaching, additional learning support, young adult carers and student development services. Its mental health lead, Bobbie Pidgeon, emphasised the importance of students knowing help was available.^[1]

The college describes several kinds of help made visible together, with identifiable people behind them. Its report does not establish what happened to individual students afterwards. It is a separately sourced example of college practice, with no connection to The Reset implied.

For school sixth forms, the next question reaches beyond the event or the noticeboard. Could a student explain which adult to approach, what to say and what happens next? A support offer can be extensive while its first step remains difficult.

Awareness does not settle the first conversation

DfE’s May 2026 pupil and learner survey, released in September, included 1,651 respondents aged 16 to 19. Of that group, 86% knew of school or college mental health support. A separate question found that 59% would feel very or fairly comfortable speaking to adults about their own mental health.^[2]

Awareness and comfort are different aspects of students’ experience. The findings describe their reported views, rather than diagnosing individual needs.

The survey and the college account suggest a line of inquiry for leaders. How is support introduced, and what do students say about using it? Familiarity, timing, privacy and the expected adult response may each matter. Students’ own explanations can help staff understand what makes the first conversation difficult.

Our longer independent-school feature on support after a referral was published on 2 November as a review of June evidence. It separates the referral from help actually received. This feature carries that argument back to the beginning of the journey: the first conversation and the adults available around ordinary educational activity.

Be ready to support students through reflection

Asked what a sixth-form leader should understand before beginning, Will Phillips is direct in his founder Q&A: “be ready to support your pupils through it”. He explains that reflection may be personal and may upset a student. His school agreement asks for an existing wellbeing programme and a policy for supporting students’ mental health.^[3]

A video and a reflective task may give students something to think about. The school decides how to introduce the activity, who notices a student becoming unsettled and who remains available when the session ends. Staff capacity belongs in the delivery plan.

The Reset’s teacher guide describes private journalling, considered pacing and the option to pause an upsetting activity. Students should not be asked to read personal journals aloud. These details show how a provider’s teaching approach and a school’s support arrangements have to meet. They also provide specific matters for staff to preview before the cohort begins.^[3]

Follow the route before, during and after a session

Before delivery, students need a plain explanation of the activity and how they can ask for help. Staff should preview the tasks, anticipate access needs and agree who can support a private conversation. Different communication or sensory needs may require different arrangements; a quiet student should still have a usable route into support.

During a session, teachers need room to observe and respond. A student can participate through a general or fictional example while keeping personal experiences private. Pausing should not feel like failing an activity. If a concern is raised, staff use the school’s procedures and explain the limits of confidentiality.

Afterwards, responsibility needs to survive the bell. A supervising teacher may be leaving for another class; the pastoral colleague may be elsewhere. Agree who receives the concern, who follows up and how the student knows what will happen. Our full KCSIE implementation feature gives the wider safeguarding and information-handover context. England’s KCSIE child-safeguarding scope concerns under-18s; relevant arrangements must also be clear for students aged 18.^[4]

Give reflection a supported place in school life

Students can be given time to recognise pressure, consider a response or practise a respectful conversation. This learning can connect with tutorial and pastoral work. Staff also need to recognise when a concern calls for individual support, safeguarding action or specialist help.

The Reset offers four online sessions with teacher supervision. Its fit depends on the learning need, the materials and the people supporting delivery. Ready-to-use materials can help staff prepare, while the school remains responsible for its response to students.

The practical outcome is an agreed support route that a student and a member of staff can both describe. Write it simply, test it with the people who will use it and check it again after the first session. The quality of that route matters wherever a school’s personal development teaching comes from.