Social, Emotional and Mental Health

We all have social emotional mental health needs and strengths, which can change according to context. Children and young people may experience a wide range of social, emotional, and mental health difficulties which manifest themselves in different ways. We know having well developed SEMH competencies are linked to positive outcomes in wellbeing, attainment and attendance in educational settings. (Educational Endowment foundation 2020)

What can impact an individual’s SEMH competency?

• Developmental trauma
• Family circumstances such as living in poverty, parents in prison, social care involvement.
• Lagging skills for example in social communication, speech and language, self- help skills and independence, academic skills.
• Difficulty in coping with change.
• Mental health needs such as anxiety and depression
• Gender diversity
• Unmet SEN needs including neurodiversity.
• Difficulty making and sustaining connections. 

Education settings should have clear processes to identify children and young people’s SEMH needs and strengths. Education settings should have a proactive approach in promoting positive SEMH skills for all. Those with identified SEN should have clear specific targets which aim to develop aspects of their SEMH skills.

• Difficulty in remaining on task, inattentive.
• Low self-esteem and negative view of self
• Significantly unhappy, worried or stressed.
• Quiet, isolated, withdrawn, or tearful.
• Seeking frequent adult support/attention.
• Difficulties with transitions
• Frequent low-level disruptions.
• Showing signs of frustration, aggression
• Challenging and disruptive behaviours
• Impulsive behaviours including physical aggression.
• Immature social skills
• Difficulty making and sustaining healthy relationships.
• Difficulty in following instructions and routines.
• Experiencing changes of mood.
• Reluctance coming into school may experience emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA)
• Difficulty separating from parents/ carers.
• Difficulty identifying and regulating emotions.
• Vulnerability in risks outside of the home
• Difficulty understanding consequences and risk to some behaviours. Aim to develop aspects of their SEMH skills.

Supportive strategies:

Whole school ethos:

• Promote relationships and developing understanding of healthy relationships at a universal level.
• Have a coherent ethos around supporting SEMH for all e.g. PACE, Thrive, WRAP or other evidence- based approaches.
• Have a positive and collaborative family/community ethos.
• Support for staff wellbeing, including that of senior staff, through support structures for staff, such as peer coaching or supervision and CPD for staff.
• Consistent use of evidence based whole school emotional wellbeing tools e.g., Zones of regulation, Growth Mindset, mental health toolkit to explicitly teach emotional language.
• Use relational and restorative practices e.g., relational / positive behaviour policy (plan time to hold restorative conversations)

Whole School systems:

• Use robust systems for early identification and support for children with lagging skills for example in social communication, speech and language, self- help skills and independence, academic skills.
• Ensure early identification and regular monitoring of children and young people with SEMH needs through a systematic multi disciplinary approach.
• Use the assess, plan, do review cycle when planning support for individuals or target groups.
• Gather student/staff/ parent-carer voice and use to inform provision.
• Engage with external services e.g. SEMH Team, counselling, family partners, therapy services, school nurse. Seek advice and put recommended strategies in place.
• Appoint a Designated Mental Health Lead to promote wellbeing for staff and students.
• Develop processes to identify trigger points, for example during unstructured times and plan strategies to minimise the impact.
• Gather a wider picture of need within the home, local community and school setting through home visits, transition programmes, family support and engagement with external services.
• Signpost parents to services e.g., charities, family partners, parenting programmes, community hubs.
• Implement buddy systems e.g. playground buddies, transition buddies, anti-bullying buddies, reading buddies.
• Use individual support plans, risk assessments and safety planning where necessary to support some children and young people.

Supportive Strategies:

Classroom strategies - Timetables: 

• Use plans to support transition in and out of school e.g. soft starts.
• Meet and greet children, check in, check-up, check out.
• Implement movement / learning / regulation breaks built into the timetable.
• Display visual timetable both whole class and individual timetables, potentially broken into small steps such as first and then.
• Provide dedicated time for the children/young people to share their views. 

Classroom set up / resources:

• Use visual resources e.g. visual instructions, table-top ‘check in’.
• Create a calm corner / safe space.
• Use sharing box – an opportunity for children to feel heard.
• Use flexible seating such as carpet spot or chair, use of resources such as wobble cushion, kick bands etc.
• Use focus, sensory tools e.g. noise cancelling headphones, elastic wrist bands.
• Find opportunities for children / young people to express their emotions using feelings and emotions boards, keyrings, lanyards, scales, traffic light cards.
• Plan seating arrangements carefully.

Teaching strategies:

• Use positive language and reassurance- including the use of PACE / affirmations of children/ young peoples’ feelings.
• Explicitly teach emotional language e.g. zones of regulation.
• Teach regulation mindfulness techniques and grounding techniques e.g., breathing exercises.
• Chunk activities with clear start and end points.
• Use timers / task planners.
• Offer alternative ways of recording written work.
• Plan opportunities to develop relationships. For Example: lunchtime clubs, group learning tasks, buddy systems.
• Actively find out about the children’s interests and create opportunities to discuss them.
• Flexibly and creatively use motivational rewards, celebration and reminders of successes achieved e.g. golden book.
• Identify and build on preferred learning styles.
• Build movement into the lessons. For example: Acting out narratives or processes, move to corners to indicate responses, taking learning outdoors.
• Plan opportunities for choice of activities within the classroom.
• Use technology to scaffold learning e.g. voice recording the task for them to listen to, speech to text functions.
• Use instant rewards (such as work / reward, now next structures)
• Support children/young people to recognise how they are feeling and implement strategies.
• Use children/young people’s interests in learning activities / experiences.
• Carefully plan group work activities with clear roles identified.
• Use clear consistent routines and boundaries, whilst allowing for reasonable adjustments to behaviour policies.
• Timetable interventions which can promote connectedness at the whole school/college level such as circle of friends.
• Teach children to understand the risks associated with anti-social behaviours.

Working Together:

• Collaborate with parents and carers around transition and changes to routine.
• Use peer support strategies.
• Collaborate with SENCO to unpick underlying needs e.g., anxiety /depression or ADHD, ASD.
• Collaborate with SENCO to identify hidden learning needs that might impact.

• SEMH team services to school page
• EBSNA Support and Information Padlet
• National Organisation for FASD
• Newcastle EPS Collaborative Document Padlet
• SMIRA (selective mutism)
• 5 Rs Guide to promoting Resilience
• Anna Freud
• BPS (British psychological society)
• Challenging Behaviour Foundation