Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Case Study: Linking Schools and Colleges and Mental Health Professionals To Enable Joined Up Support

Gemma Niebieszczanski, Project Manager

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

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The Centre has been pioneering better mental health care and support for children, young people and their families for over 60 years.

We are the only children and young people’s mental health charity to combine research and innovation, clinical practice, and training and dissemination.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Our work with schools

Schools Outreach

HeadStart Learning Team

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Mental Health Services and Schools and Colleges Link Programme - Pilot

2015/16

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

The Mental Health Services and Schools and Colleges Link Programme - Pilot

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

To improve joint working between school settings and child and adolescent mental health services to enable children and young people to access timely and appropriate specialist mental health and wellbeing support.

Develop and maintain effective local referral route ways.

Test the concept of a ‘Single Point of Contact’.

Aims of the Pilot

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

22 pilot sites across England

255 schools

340 mental health professionals

570 education professionals

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Phase 1 Evaluation: Overview

• Carried out between Autumn 2015 – Spring 2017; covered all 22 pilot areas (27 CCGs), including CASCADE workshops

• Key findings: widespread improvements to joint working between schools & CYPMHS, despite a varied local baseline. Key elements:

• strategic leadership from health and education

• single points of contact / access

• clearly defined protocols and pathways to specialist support

• making best use of existing resources (local networks)

• Quantifiable improvements: frequency of contact between pilot schools and NHS CYPMHS; quality of joint working relationships; knowledge and awareness of MH issues among school leads

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Mental Health Services and Schools and Colleges Link Programme - phase 2

September 2017 – March 2019

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

23 sites across England

1,100 schools

1,020 mental health professionals

1,300 education professionals

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families 12

Aims of the workshop

• To develop a shared view of strengths and limitations and capabilities and capacities of education and mental health colleagues.

• To increase knowledge of resources to support mental health of children and young people.

• To make more effective use of existing resources.

• To improve joint working between education and mental health colleagues.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

CYP

Local Authorities

Education Psychology

Local Voluntary Services

School Nurses

School Mental Health Leads

CCG

CYP Mental Health

Services

School Counsellors

Youth Justice

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

• Clarity on roles, remit and responsibilities of partners involved in supporting CYP mental health

• Agreed point of contact and role in schools and CYP mental health services

• Structures to support shared planning and collaborative working

• Common approach to outcome measures • Ability to continue to learn and draw on best

practice• Development of integrated working to promote

repaid and better access to support• Evidence based approach to intervention

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Ratings of joint working on the CASCADE framework

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Spotlight: West Sussex

Key strategic elements for West Sussex identified in their workshops

• Developed a whole system approach to school and college wellbeing to include a cross directorate board to drive this transformation agenda forward, chaired by the Director of Education.

• Pooled funding across health and local authority (LA) for a role to lead on school and college wellbeing

• Emotional based school avoiders (EBSA) – a workshop with over 50 people (parents, schools, GP’s, CAMHS, third sector, LA and students’ views represented) led to the development of an EBSA strategic plan through a ‘path’

• GP, LA, CAMHS and schools/colleges meeting together in local groups across the county and these pilot models are being extended

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Spotlight: West Sussex

• Emotional wellbeing and mental health training for schools audit undertaken in order to develop a strategic joined up health and LA response to training and capacity development.

• West Sussex Local Offer website now has a schools and colleges section where any partner (health, parents, LA, schools, colleges) can access resources and book training.

• Joint health and LA Youth Participation Officers project to coordinate Young People and mental health workers in testing mental health and wellbeing Apps and develop a bank of recommended effective Apps.

• Colleges Wellbeing Working party who have audited their establishments’ practice around mental health and wellbeing.

• Schools and LA identifying an agreed Emotional Health and Wellbeing assessment tool and developing training to support the use of this tool.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families is a company limited by guarantee, company number 03819888, and a registered charity, number 1077106.

Our Patron: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge

Thank you

Gemma.nieb@annafreud.org