Social Prescribing Team

Some young people need professional social and emotional support during challenging times in their lives. We help those who are feeling stressed, overwhelmed or low and would like help to improve how they feel. Social Prescribing Workers aim to give that support through creative, social and sporting activities in the community.

Below is an FAQ to help young people to better understand what it is all about and what to expect once they have been referred. It is also designed to inform parents and other family members.

Who is this service for?

Young people aged 11-25 who live, study, work or have a GP in Islington.

What kind of things does the service help with?

Mild-to-moderate wellbeing concerns like

• Feeling low or unmotivated, not having much going on
• Feeling isolated, loss of friendships
• School worries, like bullying or academic issues
• Managing low-level stress within school, work, or personal life
• Habits you’d like to change, like poor sleep, exercise, or screen-use
• Low self-esteem and confidence
• Coping with long-term medical conditions like diabetes and asthma
• Feeling overwhelmed, unclear on your next steps in life
• Worries around gaining employment, applying for college/uni, navigating housing, benefits, or debt

If you feel that trying new activities or tackling some worries with the help of a supportive person might make the difference to how you are feeling, social prescribing could be for you.

Note: This service is not a counselling service and we do not provide therapy. Please access the Social, Emotional and Mental Health pathway if you are under 18 and need mental health support, or iCope if you are over 18.

How do you make a referral?

Please read the FAQs and then you will find a link to referral forms at the bottom of this page.

FAQs

Do you have to take part?

No. It is completely voluntary.

Are parents/carers involved?

Children under 16 must have parental consent. For anyone aged 16 or over it is up to them to decide whether to involve their family.

Confidentiality: we will treat all information we are trusted with in confidence. If we hear something that suggests risk of harm to any individual, we will disclose this to the appropriate people to ensure safety. We aim to gain the consent of the young people to do this, and will also support them to share the information themselves.

Does this cost anything?

The support we provide is completely free. The activities are also usually free. If an activity has a cost, we can apply for funding.

What does a Social Prescriber do?

Our Social Prescribers, Chudi and Ndu, are friendly and supportive with a fantastic knowledge of everything going on locally. Support is flexible to meet your needs but typically looks like this:

• We start by getting to know you, what you like, and what you might need support with.
• We can meet you at youth hubs or other community spaces like cafés or parks – wherever you feel comfortable. We can meet in person, talk on the phone, have video calls or message.
• We help you figure out what activities you would enjoy adding to your life that would help you feel happier, more capable, and more resilient – see some ideas below
• A Social Prescriber is like a mentor. We will act as a link person to arrange activities and attend with you if you like – we don’t just give you a list of things to try and leave you to it!
• We’ll regularly check in and chat about how you are doing.

We initially plan to work with you for 12 weeks then review. Usually we see people weekly, but it can be more or less – it’s up to you.

What kind of activities could I be linked to?

Our team focuses on the benefits that social, creative and sporting activities can bring you and what you want the next steps in your life to be.

The list below is a general guideline with more things being added all the time.
Arts | Archery | Baking | Basketball | Bike Maintenance | Boxing | Cooking | Crafts | Circuit Training | Dance | DJ Workshops | Environmental Workshops | Filmmaking | Fitness classes | Gaming | Gardening | Gym | Drama | Football | Multi-sports | Music | Music Production | Photography | Podcast Production | Singing | Tennis | Woodwork

We can also support you with applying for benefits and housing.

Your worker will hear your ideas and will support you to find an activity that you are interested in.

How can you ask a question or if you need help with the forms

You can email wellbeing@isledon.co.uk 

Referral forms

Self referral / parental referral form
Referral form for participating partners*

What happens when you have submitted a referral?

• You will get an email acknowledging your referral.
• Within one week, we will be in touch to let you know if the referral has been accepted and when the Social Prescriber will be in touch – we aim to keep you waiting no longer than four weeks.

Please note, after receiving your referral, we will try to make contact through all available means for four weeks. If we do not receive a response after this, we will close your case – though you are welcome to get back in contact.

* We have referral partners – teams within Islington’s community, education, medical and statutory services who actively refer young people. If you are a professional who would like to explore this option, please email our team on wellbeing@isledon.co.uk