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T he charity Young Minds reports that there are 850,000 children aged 5 to 16 who have mental health problems and that there are three children in

every classroom who have a diagnosable mental health disorder. A survey conducted by SEN Leader in 2016 showed just how widespread concern was amongst those working in schools.

This now appears to have reached the ears of the government and it has been announced that a review of children and young people’s mental health services is to be carried out.

In a speech given to the Charity Commission on the 9 January, Theresa May announced that improving mental health support is to be a key priority for the government. The details of this include:• a major review of Child and Adolescent Mental

Health Service (CAMHS) – led by the Care Quality Commission to identify good practice as well as areas that need development

• publication of a Green Paper to detail plans to improve services in schools, higher education and for families

• by 2021 all children to be able to access mental health support locally instead of travelling long distances for special care

• the expansion of online mental health support.

Part of this commitment includes involving schools more in tackling mental health. There is to be a three-year programme of mental health training in secondary schools run by Mental Health First Aid UK. It is projected that

Mental health: Developing a strategy | 13

Mental health: Developing a strategyThe emotional well-being and mental health of pupils in our schools would seem to be in crisis. Now the government has announced a campaign to tackle the problem. With schools in the frontline, what can they be expected to do? Suzanne O’Connell shares some advice.

Summary

+ The government has announced plans to make improving mental health a priority.

+ The National Children’s Bureau has an online toolkit to help establish a whole school framework.

+ Advice about prevention and strategies can be found on different websites but must be adapted for your school.

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14 | Mental health: Developing a strategy

The authors identify three barriers to change:1. mental health has tended to be seen as outside a

school’s remit and the domain of experts2. the issues affect different schools in different ways 3. well-being and mental health support are not high

profile or seen as core business for everyone in schools.

They propose a four-stage approach:• Stage one: deciding to act and identifying what is in

place already • Stage two: getting a shared understanding and

commitment to change and development • Stage three: building relationships and developing

practices• Stage four: implementation and evaluation.

Four stage framework

Stage oneIt is important to begin the process by identifying what schools do already. It is likely that within and between year groups there is good practice that others within the school might not even be aware of. It is important that there is an integrated approach.

The staff questionnaire included in the toolkit can be used to begin the process of finding out from individuals and groups how they currently view mental health in the school.

Stage twoStage two includes ensuring that everyone has a shared understanding of what social and emotional well-being is and about mental health. It is important that staff use vocabulary consistently. Use the toolkit key terms and definitions questionnaire to check everyone’s understanding. You should then consider the framing principles that the toolkit identifies and the extent to which these are already embedded in your school.

Stage threeFollowing the consultations and discussions this is the stage at which a school will begin to firm up its practice and address what needs changing. The action development plan provides some examples of what a school might find they need to develop further.

Stage four The final stage is to ensure that the agreed actions take place and that the new approach is effectively implemented.

PreventionThe National Children’s Bureau’s materials are useful for identifying where your school is in relation to mental health awareness and where it wants to be. The challenge then is to identify the strategies, agencies and advice to be able to support emerging needs amongst your pupils and prevent them happening in the first place.

The Young Minds website remains a good source of advice and information and identifies different strategies that can be used to help support vulnerable pupils.

approximately one third of secondary schools will receive this during 2017. It will then be rolled out to the remainder over the next two years.

There is some scepticism as to the impact of these measures. Money has previously been channelled towards CAMHS services only to be gobbled up by other departments. Schools are also struggling as budgets shrink both in schools and in the services they rely on. In an uncertain economic climate and with pressing mental health needs in our classrooms, what can schools do?

Take stockThe National Children’s Bureau has launched its online toolkit, A Whole School Framework for Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health. It includes a step-by-step guide to developing capacity within the school itself to cope with mental health referrals and build a climate of prevention.

It is not a solution to addressing the mental health needs that pupils in your school might have. However, it is a step towards constructing a plan for your school that might enable you to feel more in control of mounting mental health issues.

“ The charity Young Minds reports that there are three children in every classroom with a diagnosable mental health disorder.”

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Mental health: Developing a strategy | 15

Sources of advice and support

Time to Change Time to Change is an anti-stigma campaign that began in 2007. It is run by the mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. It has recently been involved in two digital anti-stigma campaigns. One is targeted at teenagers and the other at parents. The #nojudgement campaign is aimed at reducing stigma around mental health needs amongst parents and teenagers.

The Time to Change website includes a number of lesson and assembly ideas and short activities that you can use. It provides information about mental health generally and types of mental health problems.

Time to change: let’s end mental health discrimination: www.time-to-change.org.uk

Silent Secret The Government has launched the Silent Secret app to allow young people to safely share secrets. It is an anonymous social network for young people between the ages of 11 and 19. It also provides direct support from key organisations when a young person seems to need mental health support.

The idea is that it uses the support of peers which is increasingly being recognised as vital in addressing mental health needs. It encourages young people to share their secrets, thoughts and feelings, news and lifestyle.

Other users cannot make comments on each other’s posts but they can express their thoughts through buttons such as ‘me2’ to express empathy. There is a ‘get support’ button for those deciding that they need the support of an organisation.

Silent Secret won the 2015 National Digital Heroes award for Internet Safety.

Young MindsYoungMinds is a charity committed to improving the emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people. It aims to empower children and young people and incorporate their voice into the work they do. It is involved in campaigns to improve mental health services, as well as providing information for parents, young people and schools.It has six priorities that it is actively addressing in the ‘VS’ campaign:• YoungMinds VS school stress• YoungMinds VS sexed up• YoungMinds VS bullying• YoungMinds VS no work• YoungMinds VS no help • YoungMinds VS stress at university.

It has a parent helpline and its website can be a good one for young people who are looking for more information.

Prevention features strongly here and schools are advised to promote children’s mental health through:• encouraging a wide range of school activities that

build a sense of community• creating classroom environments that value student

engagement • developing relationships including:

positive teacher-student relationshipssupportive peer relationships positive home-school communication

• providing opportunities for students and staff to learn about each other e.g. through paired reading, tutor groups and mixed-age activities.

Prevention will not always stand in the way of mental health difficulties emerging. Many factors can cause pupils to develop issues at some point in their school life and many of these are not directly linked to school at all.

Strategies for schoolIncreasingly, schools are turning to the appointment of their own counsellors to provide an in-house alternative to external support.

Organisations such as the PSHE Association and MindEd have materials and advice available on their websites. There are also materials for parents as well as young people themselves provided by YoungMinds and as part of the national safety tool. Finding and adapting the best materials for use by your school will take time.

As awareness of the mental health crisis grows, schools will need more than just encouragement to find the resources and capacity to deal with the needs of their pupils. It is hoped that the current commitment from Theresa May towards this issue converts into accessible support and the financial means to put it into practice.

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16 | Mental health: Developing a strategy

• providing care the right way• collaborative working • therapy techniques.

www.minded.org.uk

The MindEd website is currently due to be expanded to create resources specifically for parents and this will be available from April.

PSHE AssociationThe PSHE Association was given a grant by the DfE and has produced guidance and primary and secondary lesson plans for school on preparing to teach about mental health and emotional well-being.

The key issues covered include:• why it’s important to teach about mental health and

emotional well-being• building teaching about mental health into a

planned PSHE programme• promoting well-being and resilience from an early age • ensuring teaching is appropriate to the age and

maturity of pupils• key principles in teaching about mental health and

emotional well-being safely and confidently • using visitors to the classroom to support lessons• addressing challenging mental health issues such

as eating disorders, self-harm and suicide.

There are lesson plans to use alongside the guidance. Programmes of Study are divided into ‘Health and

Wellbeing’, ‘Relationships’ and ‘Living in the Wider World’. Key content is included for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4. Guidance is then provided about how schemes of work can be constructed from this.

www.pshe-association.org.uk

YoungMinds provides information about academic resilience on its website www.youngminds.org.uk/training_services/academic_resilience/what_is_academic_resilience. The resilience framework provides many examples and links to strategies that might be used.

Under the category ‘learning’ in the resilience framework approaches it includes:• make school/ college life work as well as possible• engage mentors for children/ young persons (YP)• map out career or life plan• help the child/ YP to organise her/ himself• highlight achievements • develop life skills.

There are also four ‘noble truths’ which include:• accepting – concentrating on what needs to

happen and getting on with it• conserving – preserving the good things – no

deconstruction without appreciation • commitment – key workers and people supporting

pupils should show that they are there for the long haul • enlisting – finding the right balance in relation to

the number of agencies working with a child – there can be too many.

Young Minds points out that it is not necessary for teachers to develop specialist skills but they should:• understand what resiliency is, so that pupils who

need extra support are spotted• challenge assumptions made about some groups

of pupils and their potential• learn to recognise how to foster resiliency in

everyday practice• understand how to identify at-risk and vulnerable

pupils• increase their use of positive communication styles

with pupils.

www.youngminds.org.uk

The Young People’s Mental Health Advisory group The advisory group is made up of fourteen 16 to 24-year-olds who have either direct or indirect experience of mental health problems. It was first established in 2014 and the group meets every six weeks in London. It is the first point of contact for researchers looking for patient and public involvement in young people’s mental health research.

http://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/children-and-young-people-shaping-mental-health-services-and-treatments/4101

MindEdMindEd is a portal which includes information for people working with children and young people. It focuses on e-learning and includes information about:• the common signs of mental health problems• detecting problems and first help

Dr Suzanne O’Connell is a freelance writer specialising in education. Prior to this she taught for 23 years and was a headteacher of

a junior school in Nuneaton for 11 years.

“ Teachers should understand how to identify at-risk and vulnerable pupils.”

ToolkitUse the following item in the Toolkit to help you put the ideas in this article into practice:• Handout - Mental health resources available to

schools (page 34)