WELLBEING FOR YOUNG MINDS – THE STORY SO FAR.

Recognising that CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) are in crisis, CSR undertook a series of consultations over the summer of 2023 which led to the commissioning of a report on Children and Young People’s Emotional Health from Andrea King (until recently UK Clinical Director of the Anna Freud Foundation, – a world leading UK mental health charity for children and families).

The final report was delivered in December summarising the current situation and recommending an approach to initiate prevention work with children, young people and their families long before they might need help from CAMHS. 

This is in the form of prevention work and will involve developing a learning pathway using a collaborative and co-production approach. Our intention is to give children and young people agency in the design and outcomes, to enable themselves and their care-givers tools to aid emotional health.

There will also be further scope to develop work in post-bereavement/loss support for children, alongside promoting and creating opportunities such as healthy eating, sport, creative activities, and nature, all recognised to be significant contributors for good mental health and wellbeing.

The hope is to make training in, and understanding of, mental health as normal as safeguarding.  

CSR is looking to develop this practice over the next few months and will be advertising for a person with specialist expertise to lead in the delivery of this work.

The CSR board has agreed to commit significant investment to this from its capital reserves to develop something that could become self-sustaining in the longer term.