Horizon Service

What’s Horizon?

Horizon is here to help children and young people feel supported and build confidence when life feels tough. It’s part of the Restore Service, which works to make sure you have the right help when you need it most.

Who can use Horizon?

This service is only for children and young people who have a social worker or lead practitioner with West Sussex County Council.

What does Horizon do?

There are two specialist teams:

• Horizon Suicide Prevention – focused on keeping you safe and supported
• Horizon Intervention – helping you manage challenges and feel stronger

How can Horizon help?

• Advice and guidance for the adults who support you
• Training and learning so professionals understand mental health better
• Direct support for you and your family to help you feel more positive and in control

You can find out more about our service via our leaflets in the Documents Section

Who Are Our Teams?

Horizon Suicide Prevention Team

The Horizon Suicide Prevention Team supports children who may be experiencing thoughts of suicide, self-harm, or significant emotional distress. Our team of social workers, therapists, and youth workers take a whole-child approach, recognising that a child’s wellbeing is shaped by their family, relationships, health, education, and life experiences.

We mainly support the professionals working with children and families, helping them to understand risk, create safety plans, and respond confidently during times of crisis. This ensures children receive joined-up, consistent support.

We work closely with schools, social care, and health services, including through the Multi-Agency Mental Health and Education Triage (MAMHET), to plan the right help at the right time.

In some situations, we can also offer short-term, focused support directly to children and families, alongside their wider network.

MAMHET (Multi-Agency Mental Health and Education Triage)

MAMHET brings together professionals from education, health, social care, and other services to support children who may be at risk of suicide or self-harm.

Through regular triage meetings, services work together to share information, understand each child’s needs, and plan the right support to help keep them safe. This joined-up approach ensures schools and families are not managing concerns alone and that responses are coordinated and timely.

MAMHET is a key part of our partnership approach, helping to reduce risk and make sure children receive the support they need as early as possible.

Horizon Intervention Team

Horizon Intervention supports children with SEND who are experiencing challenges such as emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), difficulties staying in education, or mental health needs that may place them at risk of crisis.

Our team includes social workers, occupational therapist, youth workers, and education specialists who work together to understand each child’s needs and support both families and professionals.

We work closely with schools, social care, and wider services to develop practical, tailored strategies that help children feel more confident, understood, and able to engage in education. This includes offering advice, creative problem-solving, and guidance to strengthen the support around each child.

Where needed, we can also provide direct one-to-one support. A dedicated worker will build a trusting relationship with the child and family, helping to create a personalised plan focused on achievable goals, such as building confidence, reducing anxiety, improving social connection, and supporting a return to education.

Our approach is flexible, child-centred, and recognises that every child is different, focusing on finding what works best for them.

Alternative Format

If you require any of the information for this project in an alternative format, please contact us on 03302226060 and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you an contact us on 18001 0330 222 6060.

Accessibility Statement

We are committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Please view the West Sussex County Council Accessibility Statement for further details.

Information about the accessibility of the Your Voice Engagement Hub can be found by clicking on the 'Accessibility tab' which can be found at the bottom of this page. Where it exists, we will provide details of any project related content which is not fully accessible under a heading of 'Non-accessible content' below.

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or believe we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us at haveyoursay@westsussex.gov.uk.

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