Community mental health and wellbeing supports and services: framework

Design and Delivery

25. This framework draws on existing national work that has included or focussed on the views of children and young people and their families. This includes - Feels FM, the Rejected Referrals Report, the Youth Commission on Mental Health the Children and Young People's Mental Health Taskforce and ongoing engagement through the Programme Board.

26. In discussing and designing your local supports and services, you should clearly set out how children, young people and families have been involved in providing views or designing support and how this input will be sought going forward to ensure that you continue to reflect local need. This should reflect the aim to support families and carers as well as children and young people and should reflect the age range from 5 to 24 (services should allow for access to support up to 26 in line with legislation for care experienced young people).

27. Design and delivery of supports and services should also be multidisciplinary and cross sector.

28. Partnerships should review their assessment and child's plan processes alongside the expansion of provision, to ensure the right service at the right time for children with mental health needs. Where services require to co-ordination, this should involve a lead professional and should be part of a single process with other needs the child may have. Such work might include process mapping to reduce delay and achieve an effective response to requests for help, wherever a child or family might ask for it.

29. In providing support and considering where such support should take place, partnerships should also consider the physical environments in which services are delivered with particular consideration around creating safe, non-clinical environments that are accessible to all. Young people consistently ask for somewhere comfortable and pleasant where they can feel relaxed talking about their mental health and wellbeing.