The growth of school based mental health provision for young people in Sandwell has been nationally celebrated at a recent event.
The CAMHS team at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have since 2018 been developing an emotional wellbeing and mental health service in educational settings across the Black Country.
The joint project has seen CAMHS work with Black Country Educational Psychology services with the aim of providing additional support in schools and colleges, improving access to services and reducing waiting times.
The service has been rolled out to 216 schools across the Black Country, with a further 60 planned to join by 2024.
The programme sees Educational Mental Health Practitioners work in schools and colleges to provide both high and low intensity talking therapies tailored to children and young people. Meanwhile, Mental Health Leads in schools and colleges have been provided with nationally commissioned training to successfully implement the project.
To celebrate the success of the service, national representatives from NHSE, Department of Health and Social Care, Department of Education, NHS England and NHS Improvement, alongside regional colleagues from NHSE and HEE, visited the Sandwell Mental Health in Schools team on 27 February.
The team, led by Zoe Gilbert, Service Manager, and Pooja Behl, Service Clinical Lead, were joined by Melanie Sutherland (Educational Psychologist), Odette Nyamupfukudza (Team Clinical Lead), and Charmaine Hunter (Team Lead) to present the journey of the service from a Sandwell perspective.
Stakeholders from across Sandwell were also invited to discuss key issues around mental health in schools to reflect on the journey of the service and to inform future developments.
As well as showcasing their partnership working and journey of the service, the team were keen to share patient feedback and worked with young people to showcase the impact the service has made.
Feedback from the national team recognised the openness and transparency of the team, along with their passion and commitment to developing the service. They were also praised for setting up school-based provisions and training staff during the pandemic, while mitigating against challenges and continuing to develop the service.