Children and young people’s mental wellbeing Summary of what we heard from children and young people, parents, carers and teachers around ideas to reduce self harm and improve emotional wellbeing of people in south west London.

Introduction Across south west London, we know that there are a large number of children and young people who self- harm (try to deal with painful feelings by hurting themselves). We think that we can do more to support them. To find out what more we could do, it was important that we speak to people who have self harmed or supported someone who has self harmed.

What have we done so far Since January 2018, we have spoken to lots of people about the reasons why children and young people might self-harm Together with children and young people (as well as health and care professionals) we came up with some ideas around how we can make things better in the future.

Our ideas 1 – 4 As a group we came up with nine ideas for improving how we support people who self harm: Give support and training to parents so they can support young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties Have more activities such as sports, arts and crafts in the community to help young people feel better and become more active. Have a space where young people can meet, outside the home and school, which focuses on keeping them feeling good. Provide an online list of services that could be used by young people, parents, carers and teachers to show where they can access support and services.

Our ideas 5 – 7 5. Give more support in schools including: mental health training for teachers, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), assembly sessions around mental health and more support for children moving from year 6 to year 7 (Primary School to Secondary School) 6. Provide support for young people around specific issues such as exam stress 7. Provide one to one support for young people who are self-harming as well as experiencing other conditions such as ASD (autistic spectrum disorder), ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or eating disorders

Our ideas 8 – 9 8. Provide mental health support for parents having babies to make sure their children have a good start to life 9. Provide early mental health support to children and young people who are facing difficult situations such as domestic violence, bullying or problems in school

Testing these ideas with children and young people, carers and teachers We wanted to make sure we checked our ideas with the most important people. We did this in two ways: We ran 8 meetings across south west London and spoke to 42 children and young people We also sent out an online survey for children and young people, parents and carers and teachers to complete. In total, 1251 people responded to the online survey. 428 children and young people, 647 parents and carers and 192 teachers. The people we spoke to had a lot of knowledge and experience of these issues. 31% of the children that shared their feedback had self-harmed. 18% of parents and carers thought that their children had self harmed. And 43% of teachers who shared their feedback had supported a child who self harmed.

What people told us Those who took part in the group discussions and survey were asked to rate each of our ideas by: It’s a really good idea It’s a good idea but needs some changes It’s a bad idea I’m not sure

Results of the survey and focus groups Many of the responses we received from children and young people, parents and carers and teachers felt our ideas were good. Everyone agreed that there is currently not enough support for children and young people’s at the start of their lives. We decided to develop a plan that works with schools in each borough to help support children and young people.

What we plan to do next Based on what we heard there are three parts to our plan to improve how we support children and young people: 1. We will develop an online list of services which shows the support available in each borough Parents told us… “We are desperate for help and have no idea where to go”

Children and young people told us… 2. We will look at providing more support outside a medical environment, to children and young people who experience emotional wellbeing issues Children and young people told us… “These groups are really great and help you feel more accepted so you are less likely to take out frustrations about loneliness on yourself” “Focus on friendships within those activities”

3. We will work more closely with schools to see how we can better support children and young people, parents and teachers. Teachers told us… “A lot of teachers are really lacking the confidence when it comes to addressing or talking about mental health issues in children and young people. Improving their awareness and confidence (as well as their own wellbeing) is key” What we heard very clearly was that, whatever improvements are made, children and young people, their parents and carers and teachers need to be further involved in developing them.

What we heard very clearly was that, whatever improvements are made, children and young people, their parents and carers and teachers need to be further involved in developing them. For further information: please email swlccgs@swlondon.nhs.uk or call 0203 458 5379