NAHT welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to
the Children, Young People and Education
committee.
NAHT represents more than 29,000 school leaders in
early years, primary, secondary and special schools, making us the
largest association for school leaders in the UK.
We represent, advise and train school leaders in
Wales, England and Northern Ireland. We use our voice at the
highest levels of government to influence policy for the benefit of
leaders and learners everywhere.
Our new section, NAHT Edge, supports, develops and
represents middle leaders in schools.
The invitation to submit additional evidence to the National
Assembly for WalesÕ Children, Young People and Education
Committee concerning the inquiry on Emotionally Resilient
Children and Young People is welcome.
NAHT Cymru will focus specifically on the evidence
concerning:
Links with Education (emotional intelligence and
healthy coping mechanisms)
The work being done to ensure children and young people are
more resilient and better able to tackle poor mental well-being
when it occurs including:
- The
development of the Health and Wellbeing Area of Learning and
Experience as part of the new curriculum.
- ChildrenÕs access to school nurses and the role school
nurses can play in building resilience and supporting emotional
wellbeing.
- The extent
to which health, education and social care services are working
together.
- The take up
and current provision of lower level support and early intervention
services, for example, school counselling services.
- NAHT Cymru
recognises the fundamental role that mental health plays in
childrenÕs success and the scientific evidence that poor
mental health and fragile emotional resilience is a significant
barrier to learning.
- NAHT Cymru
believes that the vital role for schools is to contribute
significantly to promoting good mental health and emotional
wellbeing amongst pupils of all ages and in all
settings.
- We supports
the policy of a statutory framework for Personal Social (and
Health) Education, for all pupils in all schools. Pupils need to
understand and explore the issues around mental health without
stigma including protecting themselves in the digital world - about
their rights, protection and responsibilities online.
- Teachers,
support staff and school leaders must be supported to maintain
their own mental health. Mental health problems are frequently
highlighted as a concern in the teaching profession.
ÔTeachers who are stressed, or demoralised, make poor role
models for young people.Õ (The Government Office for
Science, London 2008)
- A second
crucial role for schools is in the early identification of pupils
suffering from mental health problems. Teachers and school leaders
must be empowered to play this vital role in the
system.
- There can be
no expectation on any school to provide health and social care
services funded from the school budget, unless a joint agency
approach is planned and additional secure funding is provided for
schools to be able to deliver these to support the unmet mental
health needs of pupils.
- NAHT Cymru
welcomes any commitment to invest further in connected education,
health and social care services, to increase the capacity to meet
the growing demand from schools and pupils for their services and
to reduce waiting times for this support. School leaders do not
believe this is established across Wales.
- NAHT Cymru
believes that all school staff should receive high quality
professional learning throughout their career so that they
can:
á
promote good mental health and emotional wellbeing;
á
are well placed to identify emerging mental health needs of
pupils;
á
can support and manage pupils with mental health needs and in
developing emotional resilience in the classroom and school
environment.
This CPD should start in Initial Teacher Education
and Training and continue throughout the teaching
career.
- The Welsh
GovernmentÕs commitment to the UNCRC in 2004, adopted as the
basis of all Welsh Government policy making for children and young
people, is clearly articulated through the seven core aims.
NAHT Cymru believe they present broader implications for this
inquiry, particularly when considering joined up policy across the
areas of health, social care and education.
The work being done to ensure children and young
people are more resilient and better able to tackle poor mental
well-being when it occurs including:
The development of the Health and Wellbeing Area of
Learning and Experience as part of the new curriculum.
- The crucial
role of schools in developing mental health and emotional
resilience is well founded.
- The
developing understanding of neuroscience and how it impacts upon
learning is a growing area within education. The work of experts
such as Dr Andrew Curran (Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at
Alder Hey ChildrenÕs Hospital in Liverpool), provide
compelling evidence of the link between an individualÕs
mental health, emotional wellbeing and their ability to learn.
Other joint work undertaken by NAHT with organisations such as
Adoption UK Wales and the National Adoption Service for Wales have
recently produced materials to support schools in their
understanding of similar brain-development areas, such as
Attachment Theory.
- Relevant
initiatives, activities and approaches can be found in many
schools. The following examples are only an indication of the range
of differing approaches across a range of Welsh
schools:
- NAHT Cymru,
and ASCL, supported a successful Big Lottery bid by Time to Change
Wales. The new
Young PeopleÕs Programme is helping schools across Wales to
start conversations around mental health in an effort to reduce
stigma and discrimination. Time for Change Wales evidence shows
that 1 in 10 young people will experience a mental health problem
and the stigma and discrimination that goes with it can often bring
additional unhelpful challenges. Time to Change Wales are piloting
with nine high schools across Wales.
- A number of
schools have utilised programmes such as those developed through
the work of Professor Robin Banerjee, Professor of Developmental
Psychology at the University of Sussex. Work focuses on
the development and evaluation of school-based
strategies to support pupils' social and emotional functioning. In
one of the approaches schools utilise pupil level surveys, produce
sociograms and reports that highlight potential vulnerabilities and
associated risk factors related to mental and emotional wellbeing
e.g. anxiety, anger management, isolation etc. Teachers and support
staff subsequently undertake training in the specific areas
identified through the surveys, and aim to support the most
vulnerable pupils and develop their mental health, wellbeing and
emotional resilience.
- Restorative
Practice approaches give pupils the tools to solve conflict with
peers. It has been used in a number of schools with a staff led
approach but some schools have also developed pupil leaders for
Restorative Practice and anecdotal evidence suggests that this has
been very successful in building emotional resilience and
self-confidence.
- NAHT Cymru
is also aware of schools utilising KiVa, a research-based
anti-bullying program that has been developed in the University of
Turku, Finland. The effectiveness of KiVa has been shown in a large
randomized controlled trial. It takes a universal approach to
prevention with activities for all pupils and an additional focused
approach to specific bullying
incidents.
There is much evidence cited by this programme that,
when compared with individuals who were not bullied in childhood,
those who were frequently bullied are more likely to use mental
health services in childhood and adolescence.
- Place2Be is
a national charity providing emotional support to children in
schools. It started working with schools in London but the charity
has grown and is currently working in 8 primary schools in
Cardiff.
- Many schools
have also recognised the link between physical activity and mental
health, wellbeing and emotional resilience. The challenge for
schools is in creating the space within a demanding curriculum to
enable them to provide regular physical activity, outside
timetabled P.E. sessions. The pressure from current accountability
measures can result in schools concentrating efforts on specific
curriculum areas.
- Pioneer
schools focusing on the Health and Wellbeing Area of Learning and
Experience (AoLE), have recognised a number of factors impacting on
its successful development thus far.
Their evidence suggests there is much already
occurring in schools across Wales in support of mental health and
emotional resilience Ð all future plans need to maintain such
excellent practice in the curriculum. However, such good practice
and support needs to be better connected and shared as there
appears few, if any, nationally organised approaches to such work,
or a central database of approved / accredited support
agencies.
The pioneer settings that have been most successful
have utilised existing networks to link up with schools and
settings not directly involved in the new AoLE development e.g.
School Improvement Groups in Regional Consortia.
- However, it
is unclear, as yet, whether key work to focus on mental health,
wellbeing and emotional resilience will be dealt with effectively
within this AoLE.
ChildrenÕs access to school nurses and the
role school nurses can play in building resilience and supporting
emotional wellbeing.
- School
leaders report that school nurse access is, at best, variable. The
pressure on the school nurse sector often means that, particularly
at primary level, other than annual medical assessments for younger
children, schools cannot easily access school nurse support other
than for specific, complex, high threshold cases.
- It is
unclear to NAHT Cymru how school nurses could further assist with
this area of work, other than in a referral process.
The capacity of school nurses to directly assist in
building emotional resilience and supporting wellbeing is, we
believe, very limited.
- There have
been rare examples of more co-ordinated practice in certain
schools. For example, some secondary schools have established
regular meetings attended by key personnel such as the school
nurse, Primary Mental Health and school representatives such as the
ALNCo, Pastoral Team leader and Counsellor. This has resulted in a
more aligned process should there need to be subsequent referral to
areas such as Local Authority pastoral support or CAMHS. However,
this appears to have been established in only a few areas and often
as a result of particular, local historical need and the direct
support to the general population of pupils remains with the school
staff.
The extent to which health, education and social care
services are working together.
The take up and current provision of lower level
support and early intervention services, for example, school
counselling services.
- ÔChildhood and adolescence are particularly critical
stages in life when important skills are learned which set the
trajectory for mental capital and wellbeing through later
years.Õ (The Government Office for Science, London
2008)
- School
counselling services tend to be third sector supported (e.g. -
Barnados). Schools work hard with ELSA trained staff and learning
coaches, but these are being rapidly squeezed out by budget
pressure.
- Schools
often experience great challenges in accessing joined up support
for those pupils deemed to be at risk or in need. As
previously cited (Para 22), the best models appear to have come out
of situations of past high need but often focus upon secondary
pupils Ð Year 7+. Primary school leaders have sometimes been
told that such services are only available for high need pupils
from year 6 up.
- The same
schools have also had difficulty accessing what they feel is a
dwindling CAMHS service. Many pupils are deemed to fall below the
threshold for support. The result can be a child being left without
any support other than what the school can offer. The clear risk is
that, without earlier expert support, such individual children will
require more comprehensive, costly support at a later date and
their learning and general progress could be severely
affected.
- As one
school leader clearly expressed, ÔSchools would welcome a
coherent approach which results in a speedy response to identified
pupilsÕ. That can only result from the joining up of key
groups as early as possible. Schools would welcome more streamlined
access to CAMHS and other related paediatric specialist services.
Currently, these services are not readily available to schools in
many areas and, even where they do exist, set a high threshold for
intervention. Pupils are often unable to access until there is a
significant crisis. Schools feel that they are
Ôfire-fightingÕ alone after the damage is
done.
- NAHT Cymru
suggest that more accessible services that provide earlier
intervention would also be likely to save funding over the long
term. The services appear to be set up at the wrong end of the
spectrum of need and interventions at a later stage of need tend to
be more costly to the individual and to the public
purse.
- The recent
end of June 2017 announcement of the White Paper, ÔServices
Fit for the Future, Quality and Governance in Health and Care in
WalesÕ clearly shows the welcome ambition of Welsh
Government to align services and provide a better person focused
approach. Given the implications for the ALNET (Wales) Bill, as
well as the desire to support children and young people in
developing good mental health, wellbeing and emotional resilience,
similar links between health, social care and education are now
essential. The desired pupil-centred approach cannot be achieved
without utilising the respective expertise and potential for
pooling of scarce resources across all three areas. It is also
clear that when such alignment does take place and work is
undertaken pre-school and from early years onwards, significant
resource savings could be achieved Ð as in the evidence cited
in the Finnish KiVa anti-bullying programme (Para 17).
- Many of the
examples referred to in our evidence note pockets of good practice
but, as is so often the case in Wales, the picture is patchy and
inconsistent. The impact of general budget cuts, the varying school
funding formulae and the differing Local Authority structures and
approaches provide a huge obstacle to a national joint agency
approach. Without co-ordinated investment and adjustment to funding
structures, children and young people will struggle to access
support.
- In seeking
to extend how well health, education and social care services are
working together, it also needs to be recognised that children and
young people can also attend schools outside the Local Authority
where they reside and either the school or home (or in some cases,
both) can sit within a different Health Board boundary. For the
most vulnerable pupils requiring support, who often have high
levels of mobility, this can be exceptionally challenging,
particularly for the schools who are seeking to join up health,
social care and education support for an individual child or young
person.
NAHT
Cymru - September 2017
References:
The Government Office for Science, London - Foresight
ÔMental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008)Õ. Final
Project report.
www.kivaprogram.net/program
Evans-Lacko, S., Takizawa, R., Brimblecombe, N., King, D.,
Knapp, M., Maughan, B., & Arseneault, L. (2017).
Childhood bullying victimization is associated with use of
mental health services over five decades: A longitudinal nationally
representative cohort study. Psychological Medicine, 47(1),
127-135
www.timetochangewales.org.uk/en/about-us/news/new-campaign-getting-welsh-schools-talking-about-mental-health/