Mental health Book Club for school staff

The Charlie Waller Book Club

Please note: Our Spring term books have been announced to members of the Charlie Waller Trust Book Club. If you would like to sign up for the summer term book offer and get notified when that book is announced, please register your interest below.

Since the Charlie Waller Book Club started in 2016 we have sent out more than 12,000 mental health books free of charge to those working with young people.

Members of the Book Club have the opportunity to receive a free book during the academic year.

Chosen titles aim to enhance the skills, confidence and knowledge of those who work with children and young people, by providing them with resources they can use to promote positive mental health.

Please note: This form is to register your interest in becoming a member of the Charlie Waller Trust Book Club. You will not become a member of the Book Club until you have completed our registration survey. An email with a link to the survey will be sent to you once you have completed this form.

Who is the Book Club for?

Our Book Club is for staff working with children and young people or parents who are keen to discover new resources or build on their knowledge and skills about emotional wellbeing and mental health. The free books are only available for those working in not-for-profit organisations or for parents and carers for personal use.

This book club is a life line and is so needed. The books are of amazing quality and the content material provides some rich learning for both the reader and the recipient. Thank you so much for what you do.

Psychotherapist and therapeutic coach

It's absolutely amazing! We are an underfunded primary school and many of our children have very tricky lives, I buy most of the SEMH out of my own money, and your book club helps so many of our children and staff. Thank you!

Behaviour lead and SEMH support

What kind of books do we send out?

We select books that help school staff support the mental wellbeing of the children and young people they work with. We combine book recommendations from Book Club members with suggestions from our mental health trainers to select the books.

Some of the previous titles we've sent out, include:

The A-Z of Trauma Informed Teaching

Authors: Sarah Naish, Anne Oakley, Hannah O'Brien, Sair Penna and Daniel Thrower

The book provides successful strategies to help with the behaviour and learning of children who struggle in school settings. It explains perplexing behaviours and teaches inclusive strategies that will help pupils in school.

Gilly the Giraffe Learns to Love Herself

Author: Dr Karen Treisman

Even though Gilly the Giraffe has many wonderful things in her life, she sometimes lacks confidence. This story supports children aged 5-10 and the adults around them to celebrate their uniqueness and their strengths, as well as boost their self-esteem, confidence, self-belief, and sense of self-worth.

Wired Differently

Author: Joe Wells

This collection of illustrated portraits celebrates the lives of influential neurodivergent figures who have achieved amazing things in recent times. From politicians, activists and journalists to YouTubers, DJs and poets, this book highlights a wide range of exciting career paths for neurodivergent readers.

Other previous titles include:

A Simple Guide to Child Trauma, Betsy De Thierry
All emotions are ok, Dr Sarah Temple
All Birds Have Anxiety, Kathy Hoopman
Can I Tell You About Aspergers Syndrome?, Jude Welton
Essential Listening Skills For Busy School Staff, Nick Luxmoore
Mud Boy, Sarah Siggs
My Anxiety Handbook, Bridie Gallagher and Phoebe McEwen Sue Knowles
Not Today, Celeste!, Liza Stevens
Starving the Anxiety Gremlin, Kate Collins-Donnelly
Teen Substance Use, Mental Health and Body Image, Ian Macdonald
The Amazing A-Z of Resilience, David Gumbrell
The CBT Art Activity Book, Jennifer Guest
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Workout for Teens, Paula Nagel
The Princess and the Fog, Lloyd Jones
Something Bad Happened: A Kid's Guide to Coping with Events in the News Dawn Huebner

Become a Book Club member?

You can register your interest in becoming a book club member by completing the short form below. We will then send you a follow up survey to your email.

What can I expect?

During the academic year you will have the chance to receive a book with the aim of boosting your understanding, skills, confidence or ideas when working to promote or support the mental health of children and young people.

How frequently can I receive a book?

The Book Club aims to run once a term, and titles focus on the mental wellbeing of either primary or secondary aged children.

By joining the mailing list you will be notified each time a book is being offered, and members must opt in to receive the book. Copies are allocated on a first come, first served basis, and only to eligible members.

What do you expect from me?

Before we dispatch each book club title, we’ll ask you to opt in to receive the new title. This will ensure we spend the charity’s funds most usefully and are not sending titles that are of less interest or to people no longer in post.

For each book you opt in for, we’ll ask you to tell us how you think you might use it and later to complete a short online survey to help us assess the impact that the book has had on your skills, understanding and confidence. Please take the few minutes needed to share this feedback as it will be fundamental to securing ongoing funding for the Book Club and also in helping us to share the most impactful books and resources.

Can I get free copies of the previous book club titles?

Unfortunately once the opt-in has closed there won't be further opportunities to request a free copy of that title.

Sometimes we are able to sell Book Club titles at a subsidised rate after the allocation of free books have been sent. If applicable, details will be sent to people on the Book Club mailing list, and the book will available in the Charlie Waller Trust shop.

I do not live in the UK - can I still be part of the Book Club?

As we are a UK Charity, we support UK based organisations and unfortunately we cannot send books overseas.

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The Charlie Waller Trust

The Charlie Waller Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales 1109984. A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales 5447902. Registered address: The Charlie Waller Trust, First Floor, 23 Kingfisher Court, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5SJ.