From Sara Yan, School Nurses team

How do you measure the effectiveness of the mental health services in schools e.g. how effective is CAMHS?

The School Nurse offers a weekly drop-in to all secondary schools. When a young person is referred to drop-in along with a frank discussion with them as to how they are feeling such as rating their mood out of 10, we also use assessment tools to identify any mental health struggles, including a Moods and Feelings questionnaire, and the Tavistock assessment for self harming. On subsequent appointments responses would be measured against those original assessments to identify if the support and strategies offered had been effective.

Also, does the young person want to come back for more appointments, as this is a strong indicator of whether they have found the school nurse input helpful.

How can you make mental health services in schools more accessible for students in schools?

It is important for young people to be able to access services without too much disruption to their day and not to have to rely on others to attend an appointment. The School Nurses drop-in is effective in this way as the School Nurses service is in school and the drop-in runs over break time so a student does not have to leave the lesson, which can often generate those awkward questions from class mates as to where they are going.

I have worked with families where they either have not been able to take the time off work to take the young person to a CAMHS appointment if out of school, or they are not willing to as they do not recognise the need for CAMHs support.

There should be less barriers to young people accessing support services such as CAMHS. A CAMHS referral requires the parent/carer to engage with CAMHS, respond to requests for information and book appointments. Often there are mental health difficulties for young people due to the trauma and difficulties they are experiencing in the home. When a parent is struggling with their own issues, they are often not in a place to be able to support the young person to access services such as CAMHS. More mental health support directed to and focused on the young persons engagement rather than the parent/carer may make these services more accessible. This is best placed to be undertaken at school (unless the young person is struggling with school attendance).

How do we reduce mental health stigma in schools?

Education! Young people need to be encouraged to recognise that mental health struggles are no different to a broken arm, reflux or an ear infection.  The body is unwell and needs to access support to become well again. Just as stress can cause one person to have irritable bowl and another to have headaches, it is just as likely to cause mental health difficulties in some people. Also, education about how it is all connected. Poor sleep and poor eating habits not only have an impact on your physical health such as tummy ache, it affects your mental health as well. 

Positive use of social media and celebrities can be used to reduce the stigma. More and more celebrities are being open about their mental health difficulties which can show young people that: 1) they are not alone, 2) it doesn’t matter how successful you are or how much money you have, everyone can experience mental health difficulties at some point in their life.