1. Promoting Positive Mental
Health in Schools: Building
Resiliency & Promoting
Early Intervention
Sallyann Sutton: Young People’s Health Advisor-Emotional Health & Well-
Being. NHS Walsall Community Health
Morag Quirk: Interim Principle Education Psychologist. Children's Service-
Serco
Janet Catto. Healthy School Manager. Children's Service-Serco

2. Aim of workshop
• Share the good practice work of partnership working:
– Morag Quirk & Jane Linton (Educational Psychologist)
– Dr Gary Law (Child Clinical Psychologist)
– Sallyann Sutton (Young People’s Health Advisor Emotional Health &
Wellbeing)
• To give an overview of the project
– Background
– Aims
– delivery
– Outcomes
• Demonstrate the use of audit and planning tool

3. Setting the Scene
Walsall’s Children’s Mental Health Strategies are developed and commissioned
through a partnership approach.
This approach brings together for example:
Health Services
• Walsall & Dudley Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (CAMHS & Clinical
Psychology Services)
• Walsall NHS Community Health Trust (Children's preventative Service i.e.Young
Peoples Health Advisors, School Health Advisors, Health Visiting, Health
Promotion Services
Walsall Children’s Services, Serco
• Healthy Schools,
• Educational psychologists (CISS),
• Education Welfare Officers,
• School Improvement,
• Behaviour Support, LAC

4. Strategies/Projects
• Emotional Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Children and Young
People in Walsall.
• Healthy Schools – Whole school approach
• PSHE Education
• Schools Mental Health Teaching Resource (KS3 & 4)
• SEAL
• CAMHS Strategic partnership
• Childrens Preventative Service
• Inclusion Partnership pilot
• Project development work

5. Training
• MIND
• STORM (Skills Training on Risk Management)
• SEAL
• Emotional Health & Wellbeing (Self Esteem) – Secondary
Teachers
• Solihull Approach for Early Years & School Aged Years

6. Promoting Positive Mental Health
in Schools.
The Project: Why?
• Raft of strategies and initiatives to promote CYP’s Mental Health
– Promoting Children Mental Health in Schools (2001)
– Social Emotional Aspects of Learning
– National Healthy Schools Programme
– Every Child Matters
– Mental Health is ‘everyone’s business’.
• Need to be consistent with and build up on existing policies and
guidance.
• Empower schools to do what is needed and for us to support and
signpost.

7. The project
starting points & intended outcomes
Two pilot projects commissioned by
1) Two neighbouring Primary Schools. Both schools use the SEAL (Social
Emotional Aspects of Learning, National Primary Strategy) Curriculum
resource.
2) A pupil referral unit for Key stage 4.
Anticipated Outcomes:
• to raise awareness of mental health issues in schools
• to develop practice in promoting resiliency
• to engage parents in building resiliency of children
• to understand roles and promote effective engagement of other
agencies engaged in promoting positive mental health

8. Promoting Positive Mental Health
in Schools.
The Project: How?
• Planning sessions with members of SLT
• Training half day for teaching staff, teaching assistants, support staff
and service providers
Content:
• Baseline data
• SEAL and mental health
• Risk and Resiliency
• Understanding mental health and referral pathways
• Scenario's
• Follow-up meeting to review the school ‘action plan’ and identify any
ongoing support from outside agencies.
• Delivery of agreed support over 12 month period.

9. Evaluation of project
• Pre and post test questionnaires were completed as part of the
evaluation process, tracking developments in policy and practice over
time.
• PASS data
• 2008/9 Children’s perceptions gathered in response to the specific
action plan agreed. (This will be built upon more comprehensively in second project)
• Learning from project one
– Secured buy in and commitment from SLT
– Development of a more structured action planning exercise.

10. Audit and Planning
Tools

11. And the future…..
TaMHS – Targeted Mental Health in Schools.
A project funded by the DCSF which aims to transform the
way mental health support is delivered to children to
improve their mental wellbeing and tackle problems early.
An ‘ecological’ approach to promoting mental health
involving viewing the child not just in terms of their
problems and needs, but in relation to the environments
and structures they are part of
(family, peers, class, school and wider community)