Guidance for schools: Getting more help

(Also see guidance materials for schools under Thriving, Getting Advice and signposting, Getting help and Risk Support)

Keeping children safe in education (2020) Statutory guidance for schools and colleges (Updated – January 2021)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/954314/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2020_-_Update_-_January_2021.pdf

Special Educational needs and disability code of practice 0-25 years (updated April 2020)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25 and see also  https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/local-offer/local-offer-education-and-training-5-18

The national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 -2026

www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026/the-national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-

Children and young people with learning disabilities – understanding their mental health
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/children-and-young-people.pdf

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding partnership. Effective Support for Children and Families (Thresholds) Document https://safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk/children-board/professionals/procedures/threshold-document/

Education for Recovery: Promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges DFE June 2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges

Adverse childhood experiences (ACES) / Trauma informed practice.

This MindEd session is aimed at a universal audience and focuses on single, one-off traumas such as accidents and assaults, and on bullying. Maltreatment and sexual abuse are addressed elsewhere.

https://www.minded.org.uk/LearningContent/LaunchForGuestAccess/445694

see also:

Six principles for a trauma -informed school https://www.youngminds.org.uk/media/hvsd11j0/trauma-informed-schools.pdf

and https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/parents-and-young-people/information-for-parents-and-carers/traumatic-stress-in-children-for-parents-and-carers

Measuring and monitoring

This toolkit from the Anna Freud Centre https://www.annafreud.org/ 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

https://www.annafreud.org/schools-and-colleges/resources/mental-health-toolkit-for-schools/ and the Boxall online assessment tool for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties for children and young people. https://new.boxallprofile.org/

Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school. Statutory guidance about the support that pupils with medical conditions should receive at school. (updated2017)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3

Policy development - Schools will have different structures in place to address concerns among pupils. These will include safe guarding concerns, friendship worries and problems, family issues, sexual health concerns, learning support and wide – ranging emotional needs.

Assessment and intervention pathways need to be clear, possibly by using a flow chart as part of a policy document which identifies key members of staff and their responsibilities.

The Charlie Waller Trust https://charliewaller.org/ provides a template which schools can use:

https://www.egfl.org.uk/sites/default/files/School_effectiveness/Health-improvement/training-resources/How%20to%20write%20a%20mental%20health%20policy.pdf