A report into the problems of mental health has called for early engagement with children.
Author, Louise Cassidy of Queen’s University, Belfast, said some young children are on “a trajectory for mental illness.”
“Early intervention and mental health promotion and prevention needs to be in the primary schools because we have young children who are on a trajectory for mental illness. We need to get in early,” she said.
“And in terms of engaging with the families, that is the time where it seems to be easiest to do. We need statutory counselling services.
“Also, when a referral is made to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), a child is left sitting in limbo. That is unacceptable because that child is really, really in need and they are just being left to fester and to feel unsupported.
“The community and voluntary sector want to be able to help. We heard from Familyworks and lots of different organisations who are saying, ‘Let’s create something to plug this gap and work together’. That is achievable.”
The ‘Evidence Summary Report of Inquiry Into Mental Health Education and Early Intervention in Schools’ was commissioned by the charity MindWise and launched by the Assembly All-Party Group on Mental Health in Holy Child PS, in Derry on Friday.
Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy, chairperson, said the aim of the All-Party Group in publishing the report was to “remove the silos around mental health and around education”.
“Too often we hear things moving between the Department of Health and the Department of Education and other departments and responsibility can quite often be lost in that,” he said.
“Today is about removing those barriers. It is also about taking this out of Stormont and taking this into our communities and into our schools, who will implement it.”
Holy Child PS principal, Ms Pat Concannon said it was a “privilege” to host the launch.
She added: “As a school, we put mental health and wellbeing at the core of our curriculum because we believe if children can’t regulate and have resilience, they can’t access the curriculum.
“Hopefully now the right people will read this report and we will be able to get the funding back in the schools to pay for our counsellors.”
Fionnuala McKenna from MindWise said she was particularly pleased about the “great mix” of charities and schools at the launch.
“We want to stand beside you in what you are delivering. We have to use our collective voice to make things better for our children and young people,” she said.
