Agenda item
Emotional Wellbeing in the Early Years and Childhood
Recommendation
Review and comment upon future direction.
Lead for item: Esther Trenchard-Mabere,Associate Director of Public Health
Minutes:
The Board received a report that summarised a new public health work programme that is being developed to support emotional wellbeing during the early years and childhood. It provided a counter-balance to a focus on mental health disorders and highlighted the importance of building a preventive approach that promoted emotional wellbeing which is both important in its own right and can also help to prevent the development of mental disorders in the longer term.
The report also provided a summary of the evidence on key determinants of emotional wellbeing in the early years and childhood and some of the key themes that have been identified from local community and stakeholder engagement. It then provided an overview of public health commissioned services that aim to promote emotional wellbeing in the early years and childhood. The main points of the discussion maybe summarised as follows:
The Board:
- Noted that at the next stage of the Children and Adolescents Mental Health Outcomes Based Commissioning project, work is being undertaken to identify the appropriate outcomes to be introduced into the contracts for both public health commissioned services. The aim being to promote emotional wellbeing in the early years and childhood and those with a wider focus. In addition, it is being planned that at a later stage of this work to introduce emotional wellbeing measures into a wider range of services for early years, children and young people;
- Heard that a future focus will be on supporting front line staff so as to develop and build upon their existing knowledge and skills to equip them with a sound evidence-base for practice along with skills to enhance psychosocial assessment of prenatal mental health and delivery of active listening approaches. In addition, joint training will be developed for midwives and health visitors, which will then be rolled out more widely to children’s centre and social care staff. The programme it was noted will have a strong focus on restorative clinical supervision for staff and on working collaboratively to develop a joined up whole system approach;
- Was informed that bullying at school ‘in the previous year’ had been experienced by 22% of pupils (Tower Hamlets 2013 Pupil Attitude Survey), of which 26% saying that it occurred at least every week. With more than half of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people (national survey) reporting they had experienced homophobic bullying with over two in five gay pupils attempting or thinking about taking their own life as a direct consequence. Accordingly, a specific programme of work is being developed through the Healthy School Teams and the results of the Survey will be considered by OfSTED;
- Heard about the importance of promoting emotional health and wellbeing; the importance of developing peer support/peer led services; better communication and engagement;
- Noted that schools had been identified as having a key role as a setting for promoting emotional wellbeing with School Nurses being well placed to provide accessible support; advice and onward referral where appropriate;
- Agreed that it would like to receive details of the outcomes of the Pupil Attitude Survey together with more details on the incidences of bullying; and
- Noted that the impact upon families will be measured through the Local Transformation Plan.
As a result of consideration on this report the Board:
RESOLVED –
That the Board continue to receive regular updates on the progress of the Public Health Work Programme.
Supporting documents: