Page 58 - SEN115 - November/December 2021

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“Have experienced greater negative impacts on their mental health and wellbeing”
wellbeing influences their cognitive development and learning, in addition to their basic physical and mental wellbeing in adulthood, as well as their social health. It also says that there is a lot of reference to secondary school-aged children having mental health difficulties, but seems to say that many problems are caused further down the line when children are younger.
The Guidance sets out eight principles that a school or college can take to promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. It then considers each principle separately and gives examples, which they say will help the reader reflect on the implications for practice in their own settings. The Guidance also signposts the reader to resources available to help them implement the support and includes references to further government guidance and advice, training for staff, curriculum support and resources for young people, parents and carers.
Finally, the Guidance says that it will be useful to anyone responsible for promoting and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in schools and colleges, including:
• headteachers
• principals and their senior leadership teams
• school and college governing bodies
• senior mental health leads
• special educational needs (SEN) and pastoral leads
• school nurses
• educational psychologists
• local public health teams
So what does the Guidance say?
A good start would be for me to quote directly from the ‘Rationale’ first, as follows:
“Good mental health is important for helping children and young people to develop and thrive.
The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England survey (2020) found 16% (1 in 6) of children aged 5 to 16 years to have a probable mental health disorder, an increase from 1 in 9 in 2017.
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in fundamental changes to the lives of children and young people. The Public Health England COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing surveillance report suggests that whilst some evidence shows that children
and young people have generally coped well during the pandemic (March to September 2020), other evidence suggests that some children and young people, especially those with certain characteristics, such as those who are disadvantaged economically, females, and those with pre-existing mental health needs, appear to have experienced greater negative impacts on their mental health and wellbeing.
Schools and colleges have an important role to play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils and students, by developing approaches tailored to the particular needs of their pupils and students. Taking a coordinated and evidence-informed approach to mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges can also help foster readiness to learn.”
The Guidance is then broken down into eight specific chapters, followed by separate sections entitled ‘Resources’, ‘Appendix’ and ‘References’ and the eight chapters are broken down as follows:
SEN115
senmagazine.co.uk
Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8:
Leadership and management Ethos and environment Curriculum, teaching and learning Student voice
Staff development, health and wellbeing Identifying needs and monitoring impact Working with parents, families and carers Targeted support and appropriate referrals
How does this impact on children and young people with SEND?
Although the SEND Code of Practice 2015 brought in under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 already provides statutory guidance and practical advice to Local Authorities (LAs) and health bodies (such as Clinical Commissioning Groups [CCGs] and education settings on how to carry out their duties, the 2014 SEND Reforms also included a change from the characterisation of ‘Behaviour, Emotional and Social Development’ to ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs’.
SEN law
About the author
Specialist SEN solicitor Douglas Silas is the Managing Director of Douglas Silas Solicitors.
SpecialEducationalNeeds.co.uk @douglassilas @douglassilas