City & Hackney WAMHS
City & Hackney Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools Team
This innovative programme aims to improve mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people in schools and other education settings in City & Hackney. The Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools (WAMHS) programme is an initiative led by the CAMHS Alliance with the support of the Children & Young People's Integrated Commissioning in City & Hackney. WAMHS works with school staff.
Annual report 2022/23
Including information about both the WAMHS and MHST programme in the academic year 2022/23
- The school environment supports well-being (supporting schools to be mentally healthy settings)
- Supporting the personal, social, and emotional development of all children in schools
- Supporting schools to be inclusive places/ increase inclusive practices
- Promote cohesive and cooperative linked working between schools and mental health services
- Increase capacity within schools to identify early and meet the wellbeing and mental health needs of all pupils
- Engagement with parents and the external world
How is the programme set up?
Schools and education settings participating in the WAMHS programme have:
- A senior member of school staff as their Designated Mental Health Lead (DMHL) coordinating mental health and emotional well-being in the school.
- A Wellbeing Framework Partner (WFP), a senior, skilled education professional from Hackney Learning Trust who supports each school to review their current wellbeing and mental health provision and develop an action plan across a number of areas to improve the support systems for mental health and wellbeing in school.
- An allocated CAMHS Worker in School (CWIS), a specialist mental health practitioner from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
- Schools which also have support from the Mental Health Support Team in schools (MHST) have a Educational Mental Health Practitioner
The role of the CAMHS Worker in School (CWIS)
The role of the allocated CAMHS Worker in Schools is to provide expert knowledge and support for the school which may include:
- Attending regular planning meetings in schools to support holistic thinking around student well-being, mental health, and need
- Provide training to increase staff awareness and knowledge in the early identification and support of students’ mental health difficulties
- Supporting the development of skills in managing the impact these difficulties can have in a school setting
- Consultation to support further understanding of needs of students and advise and support schools’ staff in how best to respond to student need
- Whilst the CWIS will not be providing ongoing individual mental health support to students, they will support involvement with appropriate external services so schools feel confident in referring students if needed and if agreed with the student’s parent/carer.
The role of the Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP)
The role of the Educational Mental Health Practitioner is to work directly with students and parents/carers which can include:
- Offering focused, evidence-based support (under senior supervision) to young people and their parents/carers when young people are experiencing difficulties with their emotional well-being that might best be managed within a school setting.
- The MHST work with groups of young people, parents, and where it might be helpful, with parents alone or with their children.
WAMHS Clinical Team Lead
Donna Oxley
WAMHS Newsletter
WAMHS send out an information packed newsletter each term. To be added to the distribution list email
elft.wamhs@nhs.net
Please use the subject line: Please add me to the WAMHS Newsletter Distribution List
