PROJECT RATIONALE

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Over the past few years strategies for developing high quality, integrated services in the NHS, Social Services and Education have been developing.  With the advent of the National Service Framework for Mental Health and for Children there has been an increased focus on the mental health and well being of children and young people.  Linked to this is the intention to develop a Mental Health Promotion Strategy to promote positive mental health and prevention of mental ill health.  The modernisation drive has pushed for services being integrated, with different agencies working in partnership.  This has resulted in new service developments and new approaches to meeting mental health needs such as the development of Primary Mental Health Workers and Specialist Youth Offending Team Workers.

Even more recently the green paper on Children’s Services, every Child Matters and the new Children Bill has proposed an integration of key services for young people under the director of children’s services as part of children’s trusts or consortia, bringing together children’s social services, local authority education, health and Connexions.  These services will be based in and around schools and children’s centres.  The Green Paper also proposes a workforce strategy that will improve the skills of childcare professionals and offer more rewards to help recruit and retain staff.  This will include more flexible training routes into social work, such as work-based training for graduates.  The chief nursing officer will assess what more health visitors, nurses and midwives can do to protect children at risk.  There will be common occupational standards and training for all staff who work with children and families.  Calls have been made that all professionals working with children and young people should develop mental health skills to give them a better understanding of children’s mental health, and how to prevent problems.

The need for the project is identified across a range of strategic plans and initiatives:

• The joint CAMHS Strategies in East and West Kent identify the need for training for Tier I interventions and that funding for this is not addressed through funding streams;

• A Stakeholder Conference for Mental Health Promotion in East Kent held in September 2001 identified training as a key element to raise awareness and provide specific interventions, which combine mental health promotion, anti-discrimination and suicide prevention;

• 'Together We Stand' highlights the need to develop primary prevention programmes and interventions to meet the increasing demands on secondary mental health services for children and young people;

• The National Healthy Schools Standard, Emotional Health and Well-being targets, need to be delivered in all schools who highlight this aspect as a need;

• Sure Start, The Children's Fund and Connexions cross cutting initiatives aimed at 0-4 year old, 5-13 year olds,  and 13-19 year olds respectively all acknowledge the importance of good mental health in and for our children and young people. These initiatives need to be supported by an effective mental health training strategy;

• 'Promoting Children's Mental Health Within Early Years and School Settings' the DfEE Guidance of June 2001, further provides evidence of the need for early intervention to enable children to develop into healthy, coping adults;
• CAMHS Services in Kent have been identified as a high-risk area in the Local Modernisation Review. (NHS Plan Implementation)

• The emerging findings from the National Service Framework for Children emphasise the importance of training and development in creating a workforce that can deliver a comprehensive child and adolescent mental health service

These factors, linked with the broader changes at a policy and strategic level and have highlighted the importance of training and education to facilitate the development of a well-trained and skilled workforce to meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents across all agencies.

Last edited 10/06/2004