Working in partnership
To achieve the best outcomes for every child, we collaborate closely with professionals across education, health, and social care. Our services are designed to complement existing support, fill in the gap in mental health services, and strengthen the network around each child.
We’re committed to learning and growing together — offering training, sharing best practices, and staying responsive to the changing needs of the communities we serve.
Our partners and projects
At Kids Inspire, we are proud to partner with commissioners who share our belief that early, trauma-informed support can change the lives of children, young people, and their families.
Every commissioned project helps us reach further and support those who need us most — and we are incredibly grateful for the trust placed in our work.
Local authorities
We work closely with Local Authorities and Social Care teams to support children in foster care, adoption, and Special Guardianship arrangements. Many of these referrals are commissioned and provide targeted, trauma-informed therapy for children who have experienced early adversity or loss. Through commissioned funding — including support from Essex County Council for our Early Intervention work — we offer timely therapeutic support designed to prevent challenges from escalating into crises.
We welcome enquiries from Local Authorities looking to commission bespoke therapeutic packages for children and families.
Who do we work with:
NHS – Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)
We’re proud to work in partnership with the NHS through commissioned services funded by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). These partnerships help improve access to timely, consistent, and trauma-informed mental health support for children, young people, and their families.
Together, we aim to ensure that wherever a family lives, they can access the right support at the right time.
Schools
Across Essex and in parts of Suffolk, we support schools with:
therapy for children and families
clinical supervision for pastoral leads and headteachers
trauma-informed practice training
school assemblies (criteria allowing)
Our experienced team of specialist therapists offer tailored packages of support to meet the unique needs of each school or consortium.
Interested in partnering with us and commissioning our services?
We’re always open to new partnerships and collaborations. Whether you’re from a school, Local Authority, NHS body or other organisation, we’d love to talk about how we can work together to support children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Mid and South Essex Children and Young People Counselling Service
In a partnership with Renew Counselling and Open Door, we provide emotional wellbeing support for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges.
Commissioned by the NHS Mid and South Essex ICB, the service is available to those living in Southend, Castle Point & Rochford, and Mid Essex.
Trauma recovery services for Ukrainian guests in Essex
With a community of around 2,000 Ukrainian guests in Essex, this specialist service supports families impacted by the war in Ukraine to recover from their experiences and rebuild their lives.
We are welcoming referrals for this Trauma Recovery service now.
Our Commissioned Projects:
Looked after children commissioned project
Our services are regularly commissioned by local authorities to provide mental wellbeing support to looked-after children. The provision of this support helps children to achieve their potential and to overcome early life experiences.
Adopted children commissioned project
A dedicated adoption service is commissioned by Essex County Council. An important part of an adoption relationship is to access mental wellbeing services for the adopted child, and for the parent/s.
“We’re very happy with the small results that were aimed for and feel we got more out of it than expected.” - Parent
Family Innovation Fund (FIF)
FIF offers a ‘Solution Focused Support’ service for young people. Focusing on “life without the problem” rather than analysing the problem itself.
This Early Intervention Project is for young people 8-19 years and is funded by Essex County Council. The service is county-wide, with priority given to the ‘levelling up’ areas of:
Basildon, Canvey Island, Harlow, Harwich, Tendring, Colchester, Braintree.
This project is suitable for young people who in the past 12 months may be experiencing one or more of these presenting issues:
Emotional distress/anxiety
Low mood
Social isolation
Parental conflict
Challenging behaviours
We are welcoming referrals to our FIF project now.
School-commissioned projects
Schools and school consortia commission Kids Inspire to deliver tailored support projects. These often include clinical supervision for pastoral leaders and headteachers, therapy for children and families, and training for school staff.
Our experienced team of specialist therapists enables us to offer bespoke packages that meet the unique needs of each school community.
We welcome new enquiries for commissioned work for individual cases and new projects from local authorities and schools.
Talk Together
Talk Together is our core project; it is not a commissioned service.
The cost of living crisis, the pandemic, and the daily challenges families face have led to a significant rise in demand for our services. In response, Talk Together was created as a flexible and child-centred programme designed to meet the unique needs of each child we support.
At the heart of our work, Talk Together provides tailored support across four levels—from early intervention to complex cases—ensuring that every child receives the right help at the right time. This approach allows us to adapt to growing challenges, offering vital support that makes a real difference in children’s lives.
Our core project
Alongside our active fundraising income, outside of our commissioned projects, our work is supported by a host of Trusts and Foundations.
Funding for core work
Our Impact
Some of the ways we made an impact.
Trusts and Foundations
Our work is funded in a variety of ways.
Working with the NHS and partners
The Mid and South Essex Children and Young People Counselling Service
Page updated: 22 April 2025
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