Social, emotional and mental health
Read our advice, tips and information on supporting students and their wellbeing.
Universal and whole-school approaches to Mental Health and Wellbeing
A universal or whole school approach to emotional wellbeing is an effective, evidenced based way of boosting wellbeing across the whole school community as well as contributing to belonging, inclusion and attendance and attainment.
Research shows that when schools adopt a multi-component approach they are more effective in promoting social, emotional health and mental wellbeing. A whole school approach involves pupils, staff, parents and the community as well as outside agencies in addressing emotional wellbeing and mental health issues.
What is a whole school approach?
A WSA recognises that all aspects of the school community can impact upon students’ learning and mental health and that they are inextricably linked.
A WSA is an integrated school systems approach - beyond programmes
An Approach... Not a specific programme or a linear pathway but something that individual schools can work with to meet specific needs and starting points.
There are a number of 'models' but the most effective are underpinned by the Eight Principles set out in the Public Health England: "Promoting children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing: a whole school and college approach".
The Public Health England (PHE) - Eight principles of a whole-school approach
DfE, Ofsted and MH Leads in Schools
The Department of Education (DfE) and Ofsted recognise that the whole school approach will help pupils succeed, as the approach supports them to become resilient and mentally healthy and will be effective in improving long term outcomes for children and young people. The current Ofsted Framework (Sept '21) draws on the PHE Whole School Approach and the DfE funded MH Leads Training is centred on the 8 Principles.
[Button/link that leads to new page] Resources to support the Whole School Approach
Whole School Approach - resources and tools
There are lots of resources and tools to support Whole School Approaches. Two particular resources that schools have found helpful in supporting them to develop their whole school approach are Dr Pooky Knightsmith’s ‘The Mentally Healthy Schools Workbook’ and the Anna Freud Centre’s Mentally Healthy schools website.
‘The Mentally Health Schools Workbook’ is full of practical tips, ideas and case studies for supporting school to make small successful changes along the way to creating a WSA. The Six Litmus Tests forms part of this and helps schools to self-reflect on their approaches:
- Mentally Healthy Schools is a free website for all primary, secondary and FE settings across the UK. It offers school staff and parents and carers, information, advice and practical resources to better understand and promote pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
- The site is divided into five key sections:
- Getting started: a guidance section for teachers and leaders to understand mental health and its place in school and college settings.
- Resource library: quality-assured lesson plans, assembly plans and PSHE resources to support and assist in teaching and learning about general mental health and wellbeing as well as specific topics.
- Risks and protective factors: a look at the issues which can undermine a child’s mental health, including bullying, family breakdown and more. Includes information on identifying pupils who may be at risk and practical resources to help support and build resilience.
- Mental health needs: focuses on the specific types of mental health difficulties children may struggle with. It helps school and college settings understand their role and what they can do to promote pupils' recovery.
- Whole-school approach: helps school leaders develop the wider support across the school to help children, families and staff thrive.
You don't need to be a mental health expert to use Mentally Healthy Schools. The website gives primary, secondary and FE education staff the information and guidance they need to best support their pupils.
If you’re new to Mentally Healthy Schools, there are a number of user guides available to help you navigate the website and find the information you need.
Training available
Training and support to develop a Whole School Approach is your setting is available from:
- CAMHS WEST teams if they are in your setting. This team can provide specific training and support for your setting.
- Educational Psychology Service your school can commission bespoke training and development work specific to your setting that can cover all 8 principles of the PHE model of whole school approaches to mental health.
Other helpful resources:
Whole school suicide prevention guidance and policies developed by Papyrus
Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance
School attendance is not only important for academic achievement, but to support the holistic development of young people as citizens within their community (Pellegrini, 2007). Childre and young people not engaging in education are ‘at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life’ (DfE, 2016, p.5). Disengagement with education can result in reduced access to support programmes and professional input. Long-term outcomes and difficulties associated with school non-attendance include: reduced future aspirations, poor emotional regulation, mental health difficulties, limited academic progress and reduced employment opportunities (Gregory and Purcell, 2014, Hughes et al, 2010, Lyon and Cotler, 2007, McShane et al, 2001). Detrimental effects are evident in individuals’ learning and achievement, with many disengaging from education all together (Carroll, 2010).
There is a group of children and young people whose reluctance to attend school becomes so entrenched due to emotional factors that they often experience lengthy absences from school. This is known as Emotionally Based School Non-attendance (EBSN) – however, it is important to note that EBSN isn’t a medical condition in itself.
The term ‘non-attendance’ is used rather than ‘refusal’ or ‘avoidance’, as children in this situation often want to go to school and aren’t refusing or avoiding, they simply feel as though they can’t attend. The children concerned won’t have control of the feelings and the easiest way to avoid them is to avoid school. Some children are even in school but not attending lessons, therefore not engaging in the full aspect of school life.
Onset of emotionally based school non-attendance may be sudden or gradual and is most common during adolescence. It is equally common in males and females (Ingles et al, 2015, Kearney, 2008). Thambirajah et al. (2008) stated that identifying and supporting young people at risk of emotionally based school non-attendance may be challenging due to children’s difficulties in communicating their distress, and difficulties that families and school staff have in understanding a child’s emotional experience of school. For some young people, it may be obvious in their presentation of extended non-attendance and distress, for others they may not be so easily identifiable. These young people may have inconsistent attendance, missing odd days or particular lessons, for others they may be only able to attend with high levels of support or modified timetables. Less recognised than that are those that may attend but are not engaged in school activities.
It is also important to note that some young people with emotionally based school Non-attendance may appear to recover relatively quickly from the initial upset of the morning, which may lead some to dismiss the possibility of emotionally based school Non-attendance. However as Thambirajah et al. (2008) highlights, it is important to hold in mind models of anxiety, as it is not unusual for the anxiety to quickly dissipate once the perceived threat is removed.
What can schools and further education settings do?
Educational settings should follow the graduated response when EBSN or non-attendance has been identified:
Interventions to support EBSN
After the information gathering and analysis process has occurred an ‘action plan’ should be co-produced with parents, the child or young person and any other professionals involved with outcomes that focus on a return to school.
The outcomes on the action plan should be individual to that child and therefore each plan will be different. The outcomes should be realistic and achievable with the aim of reintegrating the child or young person. The return should be gradual and graded. A part time timetable may be necessary as part of this process, but this should always be temporary and not seen as a long term option as all children are entitled to a full time education.
An optimistic approach should be taken, if the child or young person fails to attend or carry out the actions as described in the action plan one day, start again the next day. It should be anticipated that there is likely to be more difficulties following a weekend, illness or school holiday.
At the start of the plan the child or young person is likely to show more distress and everyone involved should be aware of this and work together to agree firm, consistent approaches. A unified approach is recommended between all involved and any concerns should be communicated away from the young person.
Key elements of a plan
The literature in this area has identified key elements of support that should be in place in in order to increase the likelihood of successful reintegration. These are:
- a return to school at the earliest opportunity
- early home visits if appropriate to discuss the child or young person reluctance to attend school
- all parties to agree actions and keep them until the next review date
- a personalised programme for each child or young person
- ensuring the child or young person’s needs are clearly communicated with all staff in the setting
- identification of a key member of staff who can be approached by the child or young person if anxiety becomes temporarily overwhelming in school
- a safe space in school that the child or young person can go if needed.
- consideration of what support the family requires
School legal duties regarding non-attendance
Schools have a duty to notify the Local Authority of cases of irregular attendance and continuous absence. This includes schools maintained by the local authority, academies, free schools and independent schools. To notify us, schools can log onto the Children’s Services Portal and complete the relevant form within the ‘In Year Admissions, Transfers, Absence and PTT Notifications’ section. It should be used to notify of the following authorised or unauthorised absences:
- 10 days continuous absence (including if the child is likely to be absent for more than 15 days due to illness or injury)
- irregular attendance or regular absence where attendance is not improving despite ongoing school intervention
- update to any previous notification - this should be done at regular intervals (suitable to that case), or if new information has been received
- where a part time timetable or pastoral support plan has failed and attendance has not improved or has deteriorated further (previous part-time timetable notifications should have been submitted)
- where a child is marked present but is not receiving a suitable education, for instance if a child's anxiety is preventing access to a classroom
Schools should also notify the Local Authority of any cases where a child is accessing reduced/part-time education arrangements. The form for this can be found in the above section on the Children’s Services Portal as well.
Resources and Training
The Educational Psychology Service have produced guidance on ‘Identifying and Support Children and Young people with EBSN’. They also offer training to accompany the guidance which can be found on the CPD portal.
West Sussex have produced toolkits and resources for educational settings to support children and young people with EBSN.
The Anna Freud Centre have also produced training and resources to support schools with EBSN
For information on Children Missing Education and Education Welfare please visit: Education Welfare and Children Missing Education Information - Worcestershire Children First Education Services
Social and emotional skills
Social and emotional skills are the skills that help children and young people develop their resilience and manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
They are important life skills that support pupils’ ability to cope with and negotiate their way through difficult situations, as well as build positive relationships with their peers and adults.
These skills can improve academic attainment and enhance pupils’ motivation, as well as promote wellbeing and help prevent mental health difficulties from developing.
Educational settings can play a pivotal role in building the strong emotional foundations that all of us need in order to thrive and be mentally healthy.
What are social and emotional skills?
Social and emotional skills help children and young people to:
- identify and manage their feelings and their behaviour, and reach out for help where necessary
- build and manage healthy relationships
- have self-control
- resolve conflict
- be self-aware
- handle and overcome difficulties
- make good decisions
- build resilience, self-esteem and confidence
- think positively about themselves and how they perceive the world around them
- recognise and prevent poor mental health
How can educational settings support the development of children’s social and emotional skills?
Social and emotional skills should be developed from an early age and taught throughout a student’s education. These skills can be taught and integrated in some of the following ways:
High-quality lessons
All children and young people should have access to high-quality lessons designed to build and strengthen their social and emotional skills.
Health and wellbeing education, throughout primary and secondary education, can be used to teach social and emotional skills. In England, this is known as RSHE.
Health and wellbeing education lessons should not be used as one-off activities or time fillers. They should also not be led by school staff who may not have a good knowledge of the students in the class - it’s important to be aware of themes that could trigger some students, or make them feel uncomfortable or upset. Staff should be mindful of those who may be affected and put extra support in place.
Health and wellbeing education lessons can offer excellent opportunities to:
- develop children and young people's social and emotional skills and promote wellbeing
- normalise discussion on mental health and minimise stigma
- help children and young people stay safe and manage risks that might undermine their mental health.
In-school programmes and interventions
There are lots of programmes aimed at all children and young people that can be delivered in schools. Many have been proven to help promote social and emotional skills and mental health.
These programmes build on the skills learned in health and wellbeing lessons. Many good quality programmes require a licence to be purchased, although staff training can often be included in these costs.
You can find out more about different programmes on the Anna Freud website which contains a list and links to evidence-based programmes and interventions our whole-school programmes and small group programmes.
The Anna Freud website also has hundreds of quality assured resources, including lesson plans, activities, assembly ideas, toolkits and classroom tools to help support teaching children and young people about key social and emotional skills and promoting good mental health and wellbeing.
Training and Support
The Educational Psychology Service offers a range of training packages that can be accessed through the WCF CPD portal or by getting in touch with the service to develop bespoke training for your setting. Currently through the CPD portal, the following training is available:
Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs): ELSAs are school support staff (teaching assistants and/or learning mentors) who have undergone the 'ELSA' programme of training by Educational Psychologists to support the emotional development of children and young people in schools. ELSAs will be able to plan and deliver support to small groups of children to support the development of social and friendship skills. ELSA provision within schools can help lower exclusion rates, promote emotional well-being and improve academic outcomes.
Zones of Regulation Training: The Zones of Regulation is a framework and curriculum (Kuypers, 2011) that develops awareness of feelings, energy and alertness levels while exploring a variety of tools and strategies for regulation, pro-social skills, self-care, and overall wellness.
The CCN Team also have training available on the CPD portal for Emotional Regulation for children with Autism. The CCN team can also be contacted to provide bespoke training packages for settings in supporting the social and emotional skills of Autistic children and young people.
Useful resources and links
- Perryfields PRU have developed a number of toolkits that support the development of social and emotional skills.
- The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) have information on how to improve Social Emotional Learning in primary schools.
- The Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) have put together an introduction to Social and Emotional Learning in Schools (webpage).
Facebook
Twitter
Email
WhatsApp
Messenger