Great Minds Together

As May comes to a close, these affirmations are reminders to carry forward.

You don’t need to prove your worth. It’s already there.

You don’t have to be strong all the time

Taking a step back
pausing
giving yourself space

That matters too

Happy Monday 🤍
Here’s what’s happening at GMT this week.
Be part of the events that fit your schedule and feel right for you

Support is there in ways that work for you.

GMT is continuing to expand its Tier 3.5 and Intensive Support Services and we are now recruiting for a:

Head of Tier 3.5 Services & CQC Registered Manager.

This role will support the continued development of GMT’s neuro affirming, trauma informed and community-based crisis prevention model working across education, health and social care systems.

The role includes strategic leadership across:
• crisis prevention pathways
• operational oversight
• workforce development
• safeguarding and governance
• integrated partnership working
• admissions avoidance and community stabilisation approaches

We are looking for an experienced, values-led leader who understands the importance of:
• relational practice
• psychologically safe cultures
• inclusive leadership
• sustainable community support
• reducing escalation through earlier intervention

This is an opportunity to help shape meaningful alternatives to restrictive and crisis-driven pathways while supporting long-term outcomes for children, young people, adults and families.

In strong teams, everyone plays a role

Support works in the same way

In partnership work, including with the Raheem Sterling Foundation, emotional wellbeing sits at the centre of how support is shaped

When services work together, support becomes more consistent
more connected
and easier to access

This means more children, young people, and families are able to get the right support, at the right time, in a way that works for them

Because support should not feel like something you have to figure out alone

It should feel like something built around you

“Whatever you’re learning, make sure you concentrate…”

That was the key educational message delivered this week by reality TV personality Gemma Collins in collaboration with the Department for Education, and the backlash from parents, particularly within the SEND community, tells its own story.

This isn’t about attacking Gemma Collins.
She did exactly what influencers are brought in to do: create noise, attention and engagement.

The real issue is what this says about the current disconnect between policy makers and the lived reality of families navigating education.

At a time when:

✨Parents are battling for EHCPs,
✨Schools are overwhelmed,
✨More than 170,000 children are out of education,
✨ Neurodivergent young people are being mislabelled, excluded or criminalised,
✨The SEND system is being described by many families as traumatic…

…the decision to front serious education reform messaging with celebrity skits has understandably landed badly.

Families don’t need performative PR.
They need:

Accessible support,
Earlier intervention,
Specialist understanding,
Properly trained staff,
Flexible pathways and environments,
… and systems that actually understand complexity.

What many people are reacting to is not Gemma Collins herself, it’s the feeling that once again the conversation around education reform is happening about families rather than with them.

The irony is that there is a really important conversation to be had around vocational pathways, alternative education models, neurodiversity and the fact that academic success is not the sole measure of intelligence or future potential.

If government genuinely wants trust from the SEND community, it has to start by showing it understands the seriousness of the crisis families are living through every single day.

For many parents right now, this didn’t feel relatable.
It felt dismissive.

“Tone deaf” is the phrase many used online this week.

And perhaps that reaction should be listened to more carefully than the campaign metrics.

Department for Education

Exam season can bring a lot at once

Changes in routine
pressure
expectations

But remember, no matter what, you are so much more than your results.

Happy Monday 🤍

Here’s what’s happening at GMT this week
Spaces to connect, learn, and feel supported

Join where it fits

And that will always be enough.

As we close out Mental Health Week, it’s important to remember that not all stress is visible.

Rest where you can. Ask for support where you need it. Speak to yourself with the same kindness you would offer someone else.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, the theme is “Take Action”.

Sometimes taking action starts with making support easier to access.

Anxiety can affect children and young people in lots of different ways.

It can look like overwhelm, avoidance, reassurance-seeking or finding everyday situations difficult to manage.

Support does not always need to start with something big.
Sometimes it starts with having tools, reassurance and strategies to come back to when things feel difficult.

As part of our commitment to providing accessible support for children, young people and families, we’ve created a free Coping With Anxiety Workbook focused on:
🌿 regulation
🌿 reassurance
🌿 emotional wellbeing
🌿 practical coping strategies

Because everyone deserves support that feels safe, supportive and accessible.

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NoMindLeftBehind