Supporting children's emotional wellbeing and mental health in England: a review (original) (raw)
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Supporting Children's Emotional Development
Purpose -This paper aims to inform the development of policies and programmes to support children and young people's emotional wellbeing and mental health. It seeks to bring together findings both from recent systematic reviews, and from individual evaluation studies which have adopted a relatively rigorous methodology but whose findings have not to date been included in such analyses. Research undertaken in England is to be prioritised, to complement an existing evidence base comprised largely of findings from US-based research. Design/methodology/approach -Using five key search strategies, studies were categorised into three main categories -"demonstrably effective approaches", "promising approaches" and "approaches for which there is little or no supporting evidence" -according to robustness of evidence. Overall, 171 potentially relevant studies were identified, with 20 of these being robust enough for inclusion in the final review. Findings -In schools, sustained broad-based mental health promotion programmes combined with more targeted behavioural and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for those children with identifiable emotional wellbeing and mental health needs, offer evidence of a demonstrably effective approach. Early and brief intervention programmes which reduce waiting times for services appear promising approaches and seem to reduce the number of sessions a family require. There is a reasonably strong evidence base to support targeted work with both parents and children. Practical implications -By providing a detailed description of the successful initiatives reviewed, this paper should help policy-makers and practitioners to develop their work. Originality/value -By complementing the relatively narrow evidence base offered by systematic reviews, this more broadly based review offers policy-makers and practitioners in England an up-to-date, context-relevant guide for programme development within this field.
Supporting Children's Emotional Devlopment
Purpose -This paper aims to inform the development of policies and programmes to support children and young people's emotional wellbeing and mental health. It seeks to bring together findings both from recent systematic reviews, and from individual evaluation studies which have adopted a relatively rigorous methodology but whose findings have not to date been included in such analyses. Research undertaken in England is to be prioritised, to complement an existing evidence base comprised largely of findings from US-based research. Design/methodology/approach -Using five key search strategies, studies were categorised into three main categories -"demonstrably effective approaches", "promising approaches" and "approaches for which there is little or no supporting evidence" -according to robustness of evidence. Overall, 171 potentially relevant studies were identified, with 20 of these being robust enough for inclusion in the final review. Findings -In schools, sustained broad-based mental health promotion programmes combined with more targeted behavioural and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for those children with identifiable emotional wellbeing and mental health needs, offer evidence of a demonstrably effective approach. Early and brief intervention programmes which reduce waiting times for services appear promising approaches and seem to reduce the number of sessions a family require. There is a reasonably strong evidence base to support targeted work with both parents and children. Practical implications -By providing a detailed description of the successful initiatives reviewed, this paper should help policy-makers and practitioners to develop their work. Originality/value -By complementing the relatively narrow evidence base offered by systematic reviews, this more broadly based review offers policy-makers and practitioners in England an up-to-date, context-relevant guide for programme development within this field.
Mental health and care needs of British children and young people aged 6–17
Children and Youth Services Review, 2021
We conducted a scoping literature review based on a sample of 51 UK-based research articles published since 2004, focusing on children and young people aged 6–17 years. Taking the 2004 Office for National Statistics survey of child and adolescent mental health as a pivotal point in the development of the field, our aims were to identify the mental health difficulties featured in extant literature since the survey; uncover critical gaps; and propose avenues for advancing the field. Articles were critically reviewed, coded, and summarised. We found socioeconomic disadvantage, family instability and parental distress are cited as key contributing factors to mental distress. Following categorizations in the 2004 survey, emotional, conduct, and hyperactivity difficulties were the most commonly researched and reported topics. The needs of migrant, BAME, physically disabled, and LGBTQ children were severely underrepresented in the literature, as were those of looked after children. We also...
Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2020
Background: There has been a recent reported rise in prevalence of mental health problems among children in the United Kingdom, alongside increased referrals into specialist services. There is a need for up-to-date information regarding changing trends of young people’s mental health to allow for improved understanding and service planning. Objectives: This article aims to provide an overview of the current mental health and well-being of years 8, 9 and 11 secondary school–aged pupils from two large regions in the North of England. Method: This was a cohort cross-sectional study. Measures including the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire, the EQ-5D-Y, social media use questions, and a mental health service use questionnaire were completed by participants. Results: In total, 6328 questionnaires were returned from 21 secondary schools. One in 10 participating pupils scored ‘very high’ for total mental health difficulties. Significant differences on well-being scores were found be...
2018
Foreword from Stuart Gallimore, Director of Children's Services, ESCC Anyone working with children and young people or listening to the news is aware that mental health problems seem to be increasing amongst children and young people. Teenage years are known to be challenging, particularly for girls, but our youngest pupils can also be affected. Schools are at the forefront of dealing with this increase in need and all schools identify children and young people who they are concerned about. While some children and young people have more serious problems requiring specialist mental health services, many children and young people have emerging or lower level needs which require less intense support to help them thrive and achieve their potential. The purpose of this guide is to encourage and build on what good schools already do in terms of differentiation and adapting approaches to include all children and help to maximise their academic and emotional development. Good schools address barriers to academic outcomes, and this guide is designed to support schools in addressing emotional behavioural and emerging mental health problems which can be barriers to attainment. Taking a whole school approach to emotional and mental wellbeing and using some of the simple low cost suggestions for classroom teachers in this guide can support children and young people's sense of belonging to a school and encourage attendance, good development and improve learning outcomes
The Buckingham Journal of Education, 2020
The article presents a small-scale study utilising both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.Against the backdrop of widespread interest in the area of mental health/well- being by the UK government and also by the media, the study starts to explore the provision being made by secondary schools.The study suggests that the actions being taken nationally lack coherence. Even within the schools themselves, there is evidence of a fragmented approach as mental health/well-being initiatives are added to existing provision being offered by pastoral staff and formally appointed councillors.As new waves of pressure from social media, gender identity, examination stress and personal identity are held to impact mental health/well-being issues schools understand themselves as being the first responder. In turn, the majority of those interviewed in the study have a perception that support services such as Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and educational psychologists are less accessible as a result of budgetary constraints.
2017
rising tide of psychological distress among children and young people, coupled with extensive spending cuts to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), has created a treatment gap with increasing numbers of pupils presenting with mental health and behaviour difficulties in schools (Taggart et al., 2014). The crucial role of schools in providing early intervention to pupils with psychological difficulties is recognised, with some authors insisting that mental health should be part of the ‘core business’ of schools (e.g. Bonell et al., 2014). This sentiment is incorporated within a settingsbased approach to health (World Health Organisation, 1986), integrating sectors from the wider social system (e.g. schools, public health, local authorities and social care): it builds on the principles of community participation, partnership, empowerment and equity. A strategic framework for mental health that reduces risk and increases protective factors for children is imperative (Dep...
Promoting equity in the mental wellbeing of children and young people: a scoping review
Health promotion international, 2015
There is increasing emphasis on wellbeing as a target for mental health promotion, especially during the formative period of childhood. Despite growing research on the importance of mental wellbeing, there is little information on how to effectively promote it or how to promote it equitably. This article presents a scoping review of interventions which seek to promote mental wellbeing and reduce inequities in children and young people living in high income countries. We used Fair Foundations: The VicHealth framework for health equity (VicHealth (2013) Melbourne, Australia: The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation) to identify points of entry at three layers of influence: (i) socioeconomic, cultural and political contexts, (ii) daily living conditions, and (iii) individual and family health-related factors. We identified more than 1000 interventions which aimed to prevent or treat childhood mental illness, but there were far fewer that aimed to promote children's or young people...