Agenda item

Documents to follow

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, the Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion and the Head of the SEND Service attended the meeting to provide a report on the role of the Council in supporting the Social, Emotional and Mental Health of Children and Young People.

In introducing the report, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services noted that information that would be provided in the presentation that would be made by the Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion would be focussed on the role of the Council in the context of the provision of education in supporting the Social, Emotional and Mental Health of Children and Young People. The Cabinet Member noted that the issue was being considered at the meeting in response to concerns that members of the Improving Lives Select Commission had expressed regarding the impact of the pandemic on the Social, Emotional and Mental Health of Children and Young People.

The Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion noted that services for the support of the Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) of Children and Young People was delivered by a wide range of agencies and delivery partners such at the local Clinical Commissioning Group and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.  The Assistant Director advised that due to the number of partners involved, all who had different roles and responsibilities in addressing SEMH effectively was challenging, it was essential that all activity was coordinated in order to support children and young people with their SEMH post-pandemic.

The Assistant Director advised that the number of children who required support with their SEMH continued to increase at steady rate and noted the impact of the pandemic and the related restrictions that had resulted in an increase in children with these needs, especially at around transition points in the education system. The Assistant Director noted many of the issues of SEMH in children and young people were a result of the lack of socialisation during the pandemic.

The Head of the SEND Service affirmed that the emotional wellbeing of children was a growing issue amongst of children and young people of all ages and that this had been compacted by the impact of the pandemic. The Head of the SEND service noted that whilst during the pandemic children had engaged well with online learning that the return to school had been very challenging for some children.

The presentation provided information on:

·       What Social, Emotional, Mental Health was and how it was defined in the SEND Code of Practice.

·       SEMH in national, regional, and Rotherham context. It was noted the number of children with these needs had grown and was projected to increase further.

·       The number of children and young people in Rotherham with SEMH needs and how this compared to other areas both locally and nationally.

·       The number of children and young people with SEMH who also had an Education Health and Care Plan.

·       Ongoing areas of focus with regard to SEMH including:

·       the challenges around the enhancement of outcomes and support for Children and Young people awaiting CAMHS or Neurodevelopmental support.

·       the introduction of mental Health Support teams in schools and the future extension of project.

Members sought further information on the provision of mental health teams in schools and whether this provision would be extended to more schools across the Borough. The Assistant Director advised that the mental health teams were led by a lead practitioner who could then access further support as required. The Assistant Director advised that having this resource available in all schools would be very beneficial but noted that the current provision and allocation of teams across the Borough was based maximising the outcomes from the resources that had initially been available. The Cabinet Member provided further information regarding the Mental Health Trailblazer and on the number of schools that had been involved in pilot, noting that the schools involved and engaged well with the scheme. The Cabinet Member assured members that whilst specialist mental health support may not be available in all schools that pastoral support in schools would identify children and young people who required support with their mental health needs.

Members noted that for future reports with regard to SEMH that it would be beneficial if representatives from partners such as CAHMS and RDaSH were present in order to provide a view of the situation regarding SEMH from their perspective.

Members sought assurance that processes were in place that would ensure that children and young people received appropriate support for their SEMH needs whilst specialist support services were being put in place. The Assistant Director advised that inclusion support services in schools were able to provide a good level of support whilst specialist services were being put in place and assured members that the level of support provided to children and young people would increase as required to meet their needs.

Members asked whether it was correct that if a child received a private diagnosis of a mental health condition such as autism that it may not be recognised by the Council and as such may not assist that child in gaining access to additional support for their SEMH needs. The Assistant Director noted that it was every parent’s right to seek a diagnosis privately. The Assistant Director advised that the statutory processes around the assessment delivered by the Council involved a wide range of professionals who provided a wide-ranging assessment of a child’s actual needs rather than just seeking put a label on their condition. The Chair noted that whilst a diagnosis may take time that she was confident that children and young people in Rotherham were receiving the support they required in advance of a diagnosis being made. 

Members noted the limitations of the report that had been presented to the meeting in that it only provided information on SEMH from the perspective of how this was managed within the education service of the Council. Members noted that they would have found it beneficial to receive an overarching view of the issues surrounding children’s mental health from all involved stakeholders. The Chair noted the limited scope of the report but stated that due to the importance of the issue and how children’s SEMH had been impacted by the pandemic that it had been important to have the issue considered by the commission.

The Chair sought assurance that the findings from the wide-ranging survey that had been conducted by Children and Young People’s Services with children and young people across the Borough on the impact of the pandemic on their wellbeing was being used to inform the development of services. The Assistant Director assured the Chair that the information that had been gathered was being used to inform to shape the delivery of activities related to education recovery across the Borough.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, the Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion and the Head of the SEND Service for attending the meeting and answering member questions.

Resolved: -

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That information on the Mental Health Trailblazer pilot scheme be circulated to members of the Improving Lives Select Commission.

3)    That the Chair of the Improving Lives Select Commission liaises with the Chair of the Health Select Commission regarding a joint piece of scrutiny work regarding children and young people’s mental health issues and services in Rotherham.