As well as supporting children in school. We have a number of links with external agencies to help and support children's mental health and wellbeing and that of their families.
Children First
If needed, school can make a referral to Children First, South Derbyshire Schools Family Support Service. Children/young people and their families experience a range of needs at different times in their lives. However, while all children and young people require access to high quality universal services some of them also benefit from targeted early-intervention support to address additional emerging needs relating to education, social welfare or other issues.
Specialist Community Advisors (SCA)
If more professional guidance on supporting children and young people’s mental health is required, then contact can be made to local ‘Specialist Community Advisors’ (SCA). The SCA’s operate in two teams North Derbyshire & Southern Derbyshire (inc Derby City).
Your local SCA can offer:
- Confidential consultation, advice and support on child and Adolescent mental health issues;
- Access to the Early Intervention Community Triage - a multi-agency weekly meeting aimed at identifying the most appropriate support service for a child or young person who is exhibiting non urgent mental health or emotional difficulties;
- Attendance at Multi-Agency and Professionals meetings where mental health concerns are being questioned;
- Training in child and adolescent mental health issues to promote the positive mental health of children and young people.
CAMHS
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. They are a specialist NHS service offering assessment and treatment when children and young people have emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties. (CAMHS) Specialist Community Advisers are a team of qualified professionals who are all experienced in working in the field of child and adolescent mental health.
A referral needs to be made to Derbyshire Single Point of Access (SPOA) – Specialist Children Services. Referrals are accepted from health, social care, educational (SENCo) or third sector professionals.
Referrals are assessed by a multi- agency team as part of the Children’s Services Single Point of Access (SPOA). The Single Point of Access panel (SPOA) consists of Community Paediatricians, the CAMHS team, Clinical Psychologists, Neurodevelopmental Nurses, Speech and Language Therapists and Neurodevelopmental Pathway Coordinators. All information is assessed by the team to help decide which pathway would suit the child or young person best.