Emotional wellbeing: promoting childrens positive mental health

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Emotional wellbeing promoting childrens
positive mental health
Professor Barry Carpenter OBE Chief
Executive Sunfield, Clent, Stourbridge, UK
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust 15th
National Conference 28-30 November 2007
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• Health is the basis for a good quality of life
  and mental health is of overriding importance in
  this
• Article 24
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
  Child

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• The international health community is concerned
  about the mental health status of our young . It
  is a time bomb that is ticking and, without the
  right action now, billions of our children
  growing up will feel the effects
• Dr Hans Troedsson (2005)
• World Health Organisation

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• Britains children are the unhappiest in the
  Western world
• Unicef (2007)
• Child Poverty in Perspective an overview of
  child wellbeing in rich countries

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• Infancy may represent the greatest opportunity in
  a childs life to prevent adverse mental health
  outcomes
• Susan Spieker (2007)
• http//depts.washington.edu/chdd/

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• families can. provide a loving, supportive and
  stable environment in which children and young
  people can grow
• The Good Childhood Inquiry (Childrens Society)
• www.childrenssociety.org.uk/goodchildhood

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• By 2020 depression will be the most prevalent
  childhood disorder
• Pretis and Dimova (2007)
• Knapp et al (2007)
• Mental health policy and practice across Europe

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• Mental health has been defined as
• A positive sense of wellbeing which enables an
  individual to be able to function in society and
  meet the demands of everyday life people in good
  mental health have the ability to recover
  effectively from illness, change or misfortune
• Mental Health Foundation (2005)

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• Children, lost in a system
• . cognitively disenfranchised
• . socially dysfunctional
• . emotionally disengaged

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• 1 in 10 children and young people between the
  ages of 5 and 16 had a diagnosable mental health
  disorder.
• Office of National Statistics (UK) (2004)

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• The continuum of vulnerability

Disadvantage
Deprivation
Disability
V U L N E R A B I L I T Y
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• The two Rs
• Risk
• Resilience

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Risk factors

• communication difficulty
• low self-esteem
• abuse
• physical illness
• developmental delay
• genetic influences
• learning disability
• difficult temperament

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The Concept of Resilience

• Resilience factors are those processes which
  buffer or minimise the effects of adverse stimuli
  on a person
• Pretis and Dimova (2007)

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How do we keep our young people emotionally
strong?
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Resilience factors

• safe environment
• secure family relationships
• self esteem
• educational success
• good communication skills
• positive role models
• warmth and shelter
• good nutrition
• feelings of acceptance
• . ability to learn

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Resilient people can say

• I HAVE ..people I trust and love
• I AM . a loveable person
• I CAN ..find ways to solve problems
• Grotberg, E. (1997) The international resilience
  project.
• In M. John (ed) A Charge against Society The
  Childs Right to Protection. London Jessica
  Kingsley

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Family Factors associated with Resilience during
school years

• close bond with at least one person
• nurturance and trust
• lack of separations
• lack of parental mental health of addiction
  problems
• required helpfulness
• encouragement of autonomy (girls)
• encouragement of expression of feelings (boys)
• close grandparents
• family harmony
• sibling attachment
• four or fewer children
• sufficient financial and material resources
• Werner, E. E., Smith, R.S. (1992)
• Overcoming the Odds High Risk Children from
  Birth to Adulthood.
• Ithaca and London Cornell University Press

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Wider community factors associated with
resilience during adolescence

• neighbour and other non-kin support
• peer contact
• good school experiences
• positive adult role models

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Resilience-promoting aspects of education

• The school as a place
• Education as a process
• Educators as people
• Daniel, B., Wassell, S. (2002)
• The School Years Assessing and Promoting
  Resilience in
• vulnerable children
• London Jessica Kingsley

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Framework for promotingmental health in schools
Classroom practice
Pastoral provision
Whole-school organisation
School ethos
From Atkinson, M., Hornby, G. (2002) Mental
Health Handbook for Schools London Routledge
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Knowledge, skills and understanding of
Citizenship are taught through opportunities to

• Take and share responsibility
• Feel positive about themselves
• Participate and take part in discussions
• Make real choices and decisions
• Meet and talk and work with people
• Develop relationships through work and play
• Consider social and moral dilemmas
• Ask for help/find information and advice/provide
  advice
• Prepare for change
• Carpenter, B., Morgan H. (2003)
• British Journal of Special Education
• 30, (4), 202-206

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• A school that is promoting emotional wellbeing
  will

• Identify vulnerable children and have strategies
  to support them
• Provide leadership to create a positive
  environment
• Use the curriculum to help pupils to explore
  feelings using appropriate teaching styles
• Have effective pastoral care, including support
  in bereavement
• Uphold values which challenge stigma and
  discrimination
• Provide training for staff involved in pastoral
  care
• Have clear and effective anti-bullying policies
• Have a range of school activities for pupils to
  participate in and show leadership.
• Have confidentiality policies

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Developing Curriculum Resources to support the
Mental Health Needs of Young People with Special
Educational Needs

• Research Project Outcomes
• Increased facial expression
• Verbal labelling of emotions
• Reciprocal responses
• Sense of fun/laughter
• Sharing of affective states
• Increased interaction
• c.f. Rowley, G. and Cook, J. (2007)
• in B. Carpenter, J. Egerton New Horizons in
  Special Education Evidence-based
• practice in action
• Clent Sunfield Publications

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http//www.partnershipforchildren.org.uk/zippy/zip
py.html
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• The review found that it is possible to have a
  positive impact on childrens mental health
  through school-based programmes
• Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
  (2002)

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• Disability and Mental Health Needs
• .. the Black Hole
• c.f. Carpenter, B. (Chair) (2002)
• Count Us In The report of the committee of
  inquiry into meeting the mental health needs of
  young people with learning disabilities
• London Mental Health Foundation
• www.learningdisabilities.org.uk

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• 4 in 10 young people with learning disabilities
  have significant mental health needs
• c.f. Carpenter, B. (Chair) (2002)
• Count Us In The report of the committee of
  inquiry into meeting the mental health needs of
  young people with learning disabilities
• London Mental Health Foundation
• www.learningdisabilities.org.uk

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One in five children have SEN, but children with
SEN are three times more likely to have mental
health problemsOffice of National Statistics
2000
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The Governments aim is that-

• All children and young people, from birth to
  their eighteenth birthday, who have mental health
  problems and disorders, have access to timely,
  integrated, high quality, multidisciplinary
  mental health services to ensure effective
  assessment, treatment and support for them and
  their families
• DfES (2004)
• Every Child Matters change for children
• http//www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/

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Friendships

• Resilience is associated with having positive
  peer relationships and good friendships.
• Having friends can help buffer the effects of
  stress, prevent stress, mediate stress and
  provide information to deal with stress.
• Friends are also for fun and companionship
  children enjoy activities much more if they are
  carried out with friends rather than non-friends.

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Bernard (2002) identifies three qualities that
characterise individuals who help young people
resist stress, i.e. turnaround people- a
caring relationship- high expectations- opportun
ities for contribution and participation
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Positive Values

• Having the capacity to act in a helpful, caring
  and responsible way towards others is associated
  with resilience.
• The child must have understanding that other
  people have feelings, have empathy for those
  feelings, have the ability to act kindly towards
  others and be able to inhibit negative actions.

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The functional model of mental health
society culture

• OUTCOMES
• level of wellbeing
• physical health
• symptoms
• knowledge skills
• quality of relationships
• sexual satisfaction
• use of services
• productivity
• public safety

• PREDISPOSING
• FACTORS
• genetic factors
• factors related to
• pregnancy and birth
• early childhood
• experiences
• family environment
• social circumstances
• physical environment
• education
• employment
• work conditions
• housing

PRECIPITATING e.g. life events
MENTAL HEALTH Individual resources
PRESENT SOCIAL CONTEXT e.g. social support
society culture
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from student .
.. to citizen
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• If parents dont support their childrens
  education, a school may fail. If a community
  doesnt celebrate its schools, a school may
  fail. And if the wider culture is dumbed down,
  schools will fail.
• Our children deserve the best from our schools.
  Our schools deserve the best from us.
• Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks
• 22 June 2007

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• We need mental health activities capable of
  improving the well-being of the whole
  population.
• European Declaration and Action Plan on Mental
  Health. World Health Organisation Europe, 2005.

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We need a whole community to develop a child. We
are that community, and these are our
children.Nigerian Proverb
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