IN response to the publication of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Task Force Delivery Plan

Barnardo’s Scotland welcomes the publication of the Delivery Plan for the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Task Force, chaired by Dame Denise Coia.

This is an ambitious document which sets out a clear and focused plan for the Task Force to radically change the way we support the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people, placing children’s rights and GIRFEC at its heart.

In particular we welcome the Workstreams on Additional Services For Children & Young People At Risk and Generic Children & Young People’s Mental Health Services.

Our report on Rejected Referrals to CAMHS reflected the experience of over 40 Barnardo’s Scotland practitioners across nine Local Authority areas.

It highlighted a significant gap in provision for young people who do not reach the threshold for specialist CAMHS. We are therefore extremely pleased that the ‘at-risk’ strand will focus on what supports are available for children and young people experiencing disadvantage, adversity and trauma, as in our experience too often these are the young people who are unable to access specialist support.”

The charity also welcomes the emphasis on supporting children experiencing emotional distress in community and universal settings.

Our work in and alongside schools across Scotland, using a wraparound Family Support Model, has shown that holistic family support, outwith a medical model of mental ill-health can achieve positive outcomes for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

We look forward to supporting the work of the Task Force over the next two years to support the transformational change we all want to see.

MARTIN CREWE,

Director for Barnardo’s Scotland.