Children’s mental health service awarded national award

Nation.Cymru Team

A Wales-based children’s mental health service has won a national award for its whole-system approach to supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing.

The Exchange programme has been named School Wellbeing Support Specialists of the Year at the 2026 Global Health and Pharma (GHP) Magazine Mental Health Awards.

The GHP Mental Health Awards celebrate organisations who demonstrate innovation and commitment across the mental health sector.

The Exchange, part of Health is One, works with ten local authorities across the UK to deliver counselling and therapeutic support in more than 800 schools.

The award is in recognition of its approach to embedding counselling provision within a broader, co-ordinated response to children’s needs.

Central to the programme is a whole-system approach, based on the view that children’s wellbeing cannot be addressed in isolation.

For nearly two decades, The Exchange has worked with teachers, families and wider services to identify concerns early and provide practical, age-appropriate support.

Support is designed to work across home, school, health and community settings, with the child’s voice experience at its centre.The programme operates in close partnership with health, local authority and third sector services, helping to reduce demand on specialist provision and support more community-based responses to children’s mental health needs.

Therapeutic interventions span one-to-one and group counselling, play-based therapy for younger children, creative approaches for children with additional learning needs, and structured support for young people experiencing anxiety, low mood or relationship difficulties.

For The Exchange, the award reflects an approach focused on building capacity within schools and communities and strengthening links between universal and specialist services.

Emma Davies, Director at Health is One, said: “Winning this award matters to us because it reflects what we know works for children in Wales.

“The Exchange functions as part of a whole-system response, working alongside schools, families, local authorities and health services to make sure children receive the right support at the right time.

“We are proud that our work is recognised at a national level, and we remain committed to delivering services that genuinely reflect those priorities.”

For more information on The Exchange programme or to make a referral visit the website.