First, I just want to say thank you to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) staff. They have helped tremendously with many cases and, without them, I would be at a loss.

However, a recent Tes article suggested that schools could be doing more, and it annoyed me. It was suggesting that schools are over-referring and not doing enough to help the students.

So, I thought I would write from a school’s point of view and suggest five things that Camhs and schools can do together to help students who need support.
 

1. Improved communication channels

If we make a referral that Camhs feels should not have been made, please let schools know. And tell us why: hold us accountable. We do not want to waste your time or our time.

Although the referral is straightforward, to do it properly can take time, especially when we have to get parents’ consent. I have had cases where it has taken me weeks to encourage parents that this is a good thing to do (many are worried that such a referral will affect their child’s Ucas application). I then have to make sure that all the correct information is on the form, collating our evidence, the parents’ thoughts and the child’s feelings. I struggle, sometimes, to use the correct terminology and am concerned that seeing things “in print” can be upsetting for pupils, so we have to tread very carefully.  

Imagine if, after all of this, the referral is rejected. Not only does the child feel that we have let them down, have we also made things worse?

Better communication channels would help to train teachers to understand which cases are likely to be taken up and why.

2. Work together on preventative measures

In the article, it suggested that we improve our PSHE lessons. At the moment, PSHE is not compulsory, although many schools try to squeeze it in as much as they can. There is so much to cover in PSHE that we only touch on mental health.

If Camhs thinks that there is something we should be following or delivering, please let us know and help us with the fight to get PSHE in every school. We need less “what” and more “how” and “why” so that we can make informed decisions about how we can help students.

3. Be aware of the limited training of teachers

The teacher helping a pupil will delve into their mental health first-aid training, which they had on one day in August a few months or years ago. They will try to think of all the right things to suggest. But teachers will be very honest and admit: this child needs more help than I am trained to provide.

I am lucky, at my school, that I have a full-time school nurse and counsellor. But even these staff are quick to tell me what they are not trained in and when that child needs further support.

I have been asked, when making a referral, “Do you think this child is just having suicidal thoughts or do you think it’s intent?”

How am I honestly supposed to make that medical judgement after a single day course?

You are the experts and we value your opinion: schools cannot be expected to diagnose the child.

4. Cut out the suspicion

Most referrals are made because we think the child needs more support. I don’t think we are trying to pass the buck or play the system, as the article seemed to suggest.

I am not expecting you to fix the child, but a plan or advice would be good. The generic safety plans we get given are not feasible in schools, and please don’t make us feel guilty if we say this. We cannot supervise a child through the whole day in secondary school. We cannot make sure that they don’t have access to blades, long cords or medicines.

We can try and we want to try, but can we come up with something else? Open, honest communication of what makes the child feel safe and what they would do if they don’t feel safe would be best.  

5. Appreciate that our objective is the same

Both school and Camhs want to help the child, especially if they are struggling with their mental health, and schools are after more advice and help. Perhaps we make referrals with this in mind - a phone conversation or a chat with a professional is amazingly reassuring, and that is what we really need.

Ceri Stokes is assistant head (DSL) at Kimbolton School in Cambridgeshire. She tweets @CeriStokes