(CAMHS) and Schools - London Health Programmes

• Pastoral Support Programmes are developed for children with behavioural
difficulties who are at risk of exclusion or of failure in school, which also draw
on other services and agencies.
• Recent relevant initiatives within education are Connexions, Education Action
Zones and Excellence in Cities which focus on areas of deprivation. The
National Healthy Schools Standard is a joint DoH and DfES initiative funding
projects to build on healthy schools initiatives and has evaluated eight pilot
sites across England. Although they are focused on physical health, a key
element is the school ethos of supporting emotional development. Other
initiatives include the introduction of Learning Support Units in schools, a
revised code of practice for Special Educational Needs, and the establishment
of a new Advisory Group on Child Mental Health and Emotional Behavioural
Difficulties (Hartley-Brewer, 2001).
The services to support children within LEAs, as with the CAMHS, vary in their
structure and staffing from one LEA to another and from school to school but there
are a number of common elements.
• Educational psychologists are mostly responsible for assessing children with
difficulties affecting learning or access to the curriculum and school social
environment. They may be responsible for initiating formal assessments that
may lead to a statement of special educational needs for a pre-school child.
They have a statutory role in providing advice to the LEA on the needs of
school age children where these are the subject of a formal assessment. They
also advise schools on working with children, staff training, school culture and
psychological well being, provide advice and support to parents and carers,
support children through group and whole class work and have a role in
supporting and advising the LEA on such matters.
• The Education Welfare Service, also part of the LEA, has statutory
responsibilities in terms of ensuring children’s education provision and
attendance. Education Welfare Officers also work with parents and carers at
home to support the welfare and attendance of their children. Behaviour
Support Services advise and support schools on managing children’s
behaviour. There are specialist teachers for looked after children and
emotional and behavioural difficulties advisory teachers.
Schools themselves have pastoral systems responsible for the emotional and social
development of pupils, usually comprising of a network of form and year head
teachers. This may include curriculum work, such as the personal social health
education curriculum, circle time (a form of classroom discussion), peer support and
system of awards and sanctions. A key member of this support is the school special
educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), usually a teacher with special remit for
SEN, who is often the link to other agencies. Children identified with an emotional,
social or learning problem will be assessed and provided with support according to the
SEN code of practice. School nurses and doctors play an influential role in promoting
mental health, identifying concerns, and providing support.
Schools may also have learning support assistants, learning mentor and counsellors, as
well as buying in services from voluntary organisations. However, a child with
passive indicators of mental health need such as being withdrawn or anxious may not