Multi Agency Support Team (MAST)

This integrated team work together using a balance of psychology and therapeutic methodologies to provide tailored interventions that address school and family needs. Having a range of different professionals working together means that the support for the parents and carers is connected and targeted around the support of the child. The team’s weekly panel referral system means that appropriate requests for involvement will result in the school being contacted within 10 days of a key worker being allocated.

The MAST team are made up of:

• Education Psychologists
• Counsellors
• Therapists
• Systemic Family Therapists
• Family Learning Mentors

Our broad collaboration and economies of scale have enabled us to provide the very best, up to date training and supervision to ensure safe, effective and innovative practice within a school and community setting. We satisfy the requirements of professional regulator bodies; BACP, HCPC & BADTH, whilst promoting flexible support hat remains needs led and not time bound. Staff maximizes direct work with children and families and is co-located in a central hub that offers a wealth of professional experience and shared expertise.

The MAST team seeks to work in a pro-active way with schools and families but is also able to respond to individual and group requests at reactive stages. Targeted MAST intervention is used if the school and the EP decide a wider system response is required. In the first instance schools should speak about the child or family in question to their school-link.

The causes of need and presentation include but are not limited to;

• Behaviour at home
• Bereavement and loss
• Family breakdown / restructure
• Early trauma including physical and sexual abuse
• Impact of being a looked after child or adopted
• Domestic abuse
• Impact of parental illness
• Impact of parental substance abuse
• Self-harm
• Eating disorders
• Depression and anxiety
• Emotional abuse and neglect
• Children managing disability, SEN or neuro-developmental conditions (e.g. ADHD / ASD)

To make a MAST referral for a child in your school you will first need to speak to your school’s Educational Psychologist.