Children in care need their own mental health service

The finding of the education select committee that mental health services for looked-after children are failing to sufficiently meet their needs was predictable. For some time, it has been apparent that child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) have been inadequate across the board, not just for children and young people in the care of the state.

The problem is that a network of services set up 25 years ago, created at a time when demand for CAMHS was much lower, is trying to cope with conditions and levels of illness for which it was never designed. The government recognises the problem and has pledged to pump £1.4bn into the system over the course of the parliament. But the deficit in quality and an ever-growing list of very real threats to children’s mental health mean this may not be enough to ensure a system fit for purpose by the turn of the decade.

With such a major task ahead, it is questionable whether the overhaul of CAMHS can focus sufficiently on the needs of looked-after children, even though four out of five show signs of mental health problems and nearly half have diagnosable conditions. Specialist looked-after children’s CAMHS teams exist in some parts of the country and expanding this network is one option. Another could be for the government to take children in care out of the CAMHS system altogether by funding therapeutic services that are attached to all local authority looked-after children’s teams.

Such a move would be based on the premise that the majority of children will need mental health assessment and therapeutic support when they enter the care system – and at different points on their care journey – and that such interventions will be more integrated if delivered through the teams of professionals with whom they have most contact.

This would not come cheap: the government has set aside £21m in 2016/17 to provide therapeutic support to 6,000 adopted children through the Adoption Support Fund, but the bill to support nearly 70,000 children in care could be closer to £200m annually.

If the government is serious about tackling the poor education outcomes for looked-after children and reducing the numbers that end up in prison, unemployed or with substance misuse problems, then it must first ensure their mental health is prioritised.

Time to recognise the benefits of outdoor learning

Recent research on children’s access to the natural environment showed that last year more than one in 10 did not visit a green space, such as a park or forest, and that those from disadvantaged areas are least likely to get outdoors. This is despite a growing body of evidence showing that learning outdoors – whether as part of a school day trip or week-long youth group residential – can significantly benefit children’s education and personal development.

CYP Now’s Special Report on Outdoor Learning looks at latest developments in policy, practice and research in outdoor education, and highlights innovative examples of re-engaging children with the natural environment across the age range.

At a time when many education professionals and children’s mental health experts are concerned about the narrow way children are taught, policymakers need to do more to promote opportunities for learning outside the classroom.

derren.hayes@markallengroup.com