Guidance and Resources
All schools and colleges are under pressure to show how they are increasing pupil attainment and achievement. Centre to being able to drive improvements for children and young people are settings developing a whole school approach to social, emotional wellbeing.
Schools through the SEND Partnership Board Projects emphasised how important it was to accept that the child/family has challenges and is part of the whole school community. The expectation that reasonable adjustments and ‘best endeavours’ will be made to enable the child to succeed. Schools should not be telling students “You/they aren’t going anywhere.”
In some schools, staff needed support to shift how they viewed the child’s behaviour: from seeing it as ‘manipulative and controlling’, to developing a therapeutic understanding and accompanying this with a more positive use of language. SENDCo and other staff modelling the use of language and strategies helped to shift staff culture. It was important to see challenging behaviour as an expression of needs not being met i.e. physical or emotional. In other words, behaviour as a form of communication – the child is not being naughty – his or her behaviour is telling us we haven’t met his/her needs yet in an appropriate way and/or expectations are too high.
Whole school behaviour policies can be key at driving this change
The School/College Behaviour Policy should reflect the needs of:
The school policy could be supported by an action plan/risk assessment enabled the whole school team to be consistent in approach and understanding of need. View the statutory guidance from GOV.UK here.
| RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO REVIEW AND DEVELOP WHOLE SCHOOL/COLLEGE BEHAVIOUR POLICIES |
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| ANNA FREUD NATIONAL CENTRE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES School leaders and teaching staff work hard each day to support the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils and Anna Freud are determined to help them in every way we can. View resources for schools |
| MENTALLY HEALTHY SCHOOLS An effective school improvement plan involves governors, senior managers, parents/carers, staff, pupils and other school community members working together to establish priorities, set goals for improvement, implement strategies to achieve those goals and evaluate progress. |
| TIME TO CHANGE Sign your school up to Time to Change. Time to Change is a national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination that people with mental health problems face in England run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness that aims to change behaviour, rather than just attitudes. Time to Change have put together packs for schools that includes everything you need to help start conversations about mental health at school. As well as everything you need for having your conversation in the staff room, there's an assembly, a lesson and a very quick session to run in form time, giving you ideas on how to start talking about mental health. Talking about mental health doesn’t need to be difficult, order your Time to Talk Day pack for everything you need to take part on the day. |
| Young Minds are campaigning for a future where all young minds are supported and empowered, whatever the challenges. We’re here to make sure they get the best possible mental health support and have the resilience to overcome life’s difficulties. Their website contains lots of resources for professionals, parent carers and young people.View resources and materials for teachers and school staff to build their skills and make mental health and wellbeing a core, rewarding part of their job here.. |
| Schools in Mind is a free network for school staff and allied professionals which shares practical, academic and clinical expertise regarding the wellbeing and mental health issues that affect schools. The network provides a trusted source of up-to-date and accessible information and resources that school leaders, teachers and support staff can use to support the mental health and wellbeing of the children and young people in their care. |
Consistency across the school was integral to working effectively with the pupil. However, it was also important that the approach used with the pupil was personalised to meet needs. Staff sometimes needed to be ‘given permission’ to focus resources and support on the emotional needs of the child (rather than academic interventions) especially when the child or young person was not in a place where he/she was ready to learn.
Other:
The West Sussex Transformation Plan
The transformation of children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health services in West Sussex is well underway. There have been a number of key achievements over the past three years, particularly around investment and service redesign across Early Intervention and Prevention services. These developments represent a strong foundation for moving forward with the next phase of transformational change.
The three Clinical Commissioning Groups (Coastal West Sussex, Crawley, and Horsham and Mid Sussex CCGs) in collaboration with West Sussex County Council (the Council) are taking an evidence based, collaborative and integrated approach to developing their plans for commissioning the service and pathways best suited to the needs of children, young people and their families . This collaboration is enabled through the Section 75 arrangements between the CCGs and the Council which establishes an aligned budget and lead commissioning arrangements. We also collaborate both across and outside of the county, commissioning with colleagues across Kent, Surrey and Sussex where greater economies of scale can enhance the quality of services, and on initiatives to support workforce transformation. Through this approach we work together to build resilience, intervene early and improve access to ensure that we deliver a whole system wide approach to transforming services across the county, in particular to the most vulnerable.
GOV.UK
NHS Digitial Report: Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2017
According to the publication, Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017 [PAS] which provides England’s best source of data on trends in child mental health:
"One in eight (12.8%) 5 to 19 year olds had at least one mental disorder when assessed in 2017 Specific mental disorders were grouped into four broad categories: emotional, behavioural, hyperactivity and other less common disorders. Emotional disorders were the most prevalent type of disorder experienced by 5 to 19 year olds in 2017 (8.1%) Rates of mental disorders increased with age. 5.5% of 2 to 4 year old children experienced a mental disorder, compared to 16.9% of 17 to 19 year olds. Caution is needed, however, when comparing rates between age groups due to differences in data collection. For example, teacher reports were available only for 5 to 16 year olds. Please refer to the Survey Design and Methods Report for full details Data from this survey series reveal a slight increase over time in the prevalence of mental disorder in 5 to 15 year olds (the age-group covered on all surveys in this series). Rising from 9.7% in 1999 and 10.1% in 2004, to 11.2% in 2017 Emotional disorders have become more common in five to 15 year-olds – going from 4.3% in 1999 and 3.9% in 2004 to 5.8% in 2017. All other types of disorder, such as behavioural, hyperactivity and other less common disorders, have remained similar in prevalence for this age group since 1999" Read the full report here
The Educational Psychology service has also produced information booklets for parents, children and young people and are holding a series of training events for school staff and other professionals to supplement this guidance with a practical tools enabling them to work effectively with children and young people and their families. Dates for these will be promoted in the coming months.
Emotionally Based school Avoidance (EBSA) Toolkit
Resources and Guidance
Services that may be able to offer support
Educational Psychology Service (EPS) West Sussex Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is a specialist team working across the County. Through the application of psychology, we aim to promote the educational, social and emotional development of all children and young people in the community.
Equine Partners CIC We provide Equine Assisted Learning and Therapeutic Horsemanship to children, teenagers and their families.
Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team, West Sussex We are a team of Advisory Teachers who provide expertise in special and additional educational needs to children, families and schools in order to improve children's educational outcomes and emotional well-being.
Neuropsychologist -Dr. Stuart Anderson Stuart Anderson is a Consultant Neuropsychologist and HCPC-Registered Clinical Psychologist based in Sussex (UK). He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), is listed in the BPS Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists and has extensive experience working with individuals with acquired brain injury and neuropsychological difficulties.
RIGHT HERE Launched in 2015, Right Here West Sussex provides resources, reports and activities for young people aged between 15-18 years old.
Books on Prescription: Reading Well Books on Prescription helps you to understand and manage your health and wellbeing using self-help reading. The scheme is endorsed by health professionals and supported by public libraries.
Fegans Fegans cares holistically for the whole family, through counselling children and supporting parents.
Measuring and monitoring children and young people’s mental wellbeing: A toolkit for schools and colleges Public Health England and the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families are committed to improving health outcomes for children, young people and their families, and collaborated to fund and develop this toolkit. The toolkit aims to raise awareness amongst school and college staff of the range of validated tools that are available to help measure subjective mental wellbeing amongst the student population. This, in turn, will help school and college leaders make use of school and college level data to identify the mental wellbeing needs of students and determine how best to address these. Efforts taken by schools and colleges to promote the physical and mental health of the student population creates a virtuous circle, reinforcing attainment and achievement that in turn improves student wellbeing, enabling students to thrive and achieve their full potential.
Doc Ready We know that it can be difficult to talk to people when you're having difficulties with your mental health. Doc Ready helps you get ready for the first time you visit a doctor to discuss your mental health.
Promoting Emotional Resilience document produced by West Sussex County Council and Sussex Partnership NHS Trust Helping children to find ways to function in a world where bad things happen
Apps for wellbeing and mental health There are now more and more apps out there that can help with anything from managing your general wellbeing to those for more specific health concerns. Listed on this link for FREE* apps to get you started. Whilst these apps can be useful, they are not a replacement for seeking medical advice if you have concerns about any symptoms you are experiencing.
Autism and Mental Health - Autistica Guide Autism Research Charity
Charlie Waller Memorial Trust CWMT Free mental health training and resources.
Counselling Directory Counselling Directory was set up by a team who know how difficult it can be to find the support and information you need. Being a team who between us have experienced various mental health issues, we know how it feels to be overwhelmed, isolated and somewhat lost.
Talking about mental health at school
‘What Good Looks Like in Psychological Services for Children, Young People and their Families’ is a practical handbook providing guidance on the provision of good quality psychological services and the active roles that psychologists and other mental health practitioners can play (September, 2015).
Mental health and behaviour in schools: departmental advice Document from the Department of Education (March 2015).
MindED MindEd is a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health for all adults.
Mental Health First Aid, England(MHFA) came to England in 2007 and was developed and launched under the Department of Health: National Institute of Mental Health in England (NIMHE) as part of a national approach to improving public mental health. View their Take 10 Together toolkit for you to use here
Supporting young people with mental health needs into employment As part of the Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) programme the PfA team are working to develop a framework of good practice to support young people with mental health needs (including social, emotional and behavioural difficulties) into employment.
Young Minds YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
If your a young person you may want to check out the YourSpace website
