Children & Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing School and Community Service

The Time to Talk Youth Work Service provides early intervention emotional wellbeing and mental health support for children and young people (0–18) across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. Delivered primarily within school settings and other community environments, the service adopts a needs-led, least-restrictive approach to support, offering accessible interventions such as guided self-help, psychoeducation sessions, drop-ins, and structured group workshops, alongside targeted one-to-one support where appropriate. Aligned to the iThrive framework, the service promotes prevention, early access, and shared decision-making, ensuring timely support and reducing escalation to specialist services. Routine Outcome Measures are used to monitor progress, ensure effectiveness, and support value for money. The service operates in partnership with education, health, social care, and voluntary sector organisations to deliver integrated care, improve resilience, reduce the risk of crisis, and enhance young people’s emotional wellbeing and social functioning. Provision includes weekly individual and group sessions within participating schools, responsive signposting and escalation pathways, and data reporting to support system-wide access targets and performance monitoring. MPFT intend to award this contract to an existing provider following direct award process C. The approximate lifetime value of this contract is £510,150 for a 3-year initial term, with option to extend for up to a further 12 months, plus 9 months. The Contract will begin 1st July 2026 and the maximum expiry date is 31st March 2030.