The Space is proud of its positive collaboration with the Wessex Learning Trust and the schools in our area where mutual respect and support is at the heart of our partnership working.

This began back in 2017 when we spearheaded a unique Team Around the Community providing opportunities for our school and community partners to come together to harness the support and services available in our community, to identify gaps and set about filling those gaps.

We have brokered introductions between partners benefitting our schools who have received direct services from a variety of statutory and voluntary community and social enterprise organisations.  This has included support from Somerset Partnership Trust’s SHARE project aimed at improving the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people aged 11 to 18 years, the provision of well-being practitioners via Young Somerset, the delivery of mental health first aid training, talks to students from the Serious and Organised Crime initiative and an exciting future sport and health and well-being project with Somerset Association of Sports Partnerships.

The Space has provided direct support to fund a series of well-being workshops and peer to peer training. We have accessed funding to support the provision of well-being support to children, young people and those that care and educate them and provided mental health awareness training to parents and carers.

Our services are not only delivered in the Cheddar Valley communities but also Cheddar First, Draycott, Weare, Axbridge, Shipham Mark,Wedmore, Fairlands, Hugh Sexey Middle schools and Kings Academy. We are immensely proud of the positive relationship that we have with the schools we support and without their help we would be unable to provide a safe and local service to the pupils and students of these schools.

Building relationships with the media has resulted in key number of TV/Radio interviews highlighting the issues of children and young people’s emotional and mental well-being raising the profile of The Space and the schools we support.