The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A Framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care
The Framework has been developed to assist all agencies with planning and delivering integrated approaches to children and young people's mental health.
6. Community-based activity
Context
6.1 Local authority community learning and development workers (including youth workers), and those in the voluntary sector who work with young people, including volunteers, have an important role in promoting and supporting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. General community capacity building work and adult learning provide valuable opportunities for those working and living with children and young people to develop a better understanding of what good mental health is, and how it might be improved in their own communities. Voluntary organisations, in particular, have a key role in linking with and providing services to children, young people, their parents and carers within the community and increasingly provide community-based resources such as before- and after-school groups, arts and crafts and sporting activities and specialist day and residential care.
6.2 All those involved in the youth work sector, whether from a community learning and development, or voluntary sector background, are an important resource for children and young people. They have the potential to provide safe places for young people to talk over difficulties and to enable them to become involved in community activities. Activities related to Walk the Talk72 also provide a platform on which to build work for children's and young people's mental health.
6.3 This should be recognised within community planning and children's services planning contexts.
Overarching philosophy and culture
6.4 The Step It Up73 materials, commissioned by the Scottish Executive in 2001, describe the purpose of youth work as:
- Building self-esteem and self confidence
- Developing the ability to manage personal and social relationships
- Creating learning and developing new skills
- Encouraging positive group atmospheres
- Building the capacity of young people to consider risk, make reasoned decisions and take control
- Developing a "world view" which widens horizons and invites social commitment
6.5 Effective youth work, as described in the Step It Up materials:
- Respects the rights of young people
- Affirms the worth of individual young people and the communities they belong to
- Affirms diversity and confronts discrimination
- Is young people centred
- Takes an inclusive approach which recognises that those young people with most needs should have greater priority
- Recognises that "process" is of crucial and central value - but also that product and programme have an important part to play
- Values implicit learning as much as that which is explicit
- Is based on the relationship between a young person or a group of young people and a trusted adult
- Is non-judgemental
- Is participative and empowering and allows young people wherever possible to play a full part in shaping the activity
- Is concerned with enabling young people to change, in a positive way, the world in which they live
Service elements and activities
* In the "Lead Partners" column, 2-3 partners are identified, with the suggested lead partner highlighted in bold. This is indicative only, and there is a much wider network of partners who should be consulted as appropriate. These are listed in Annex 1. The involvement of children, young people, parents and carers is assumed.
Service Elements |
Activity |
Outcomes |
lead Partners *see above |
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Involvement of children, young people, parents and carers in developing information, resources and services to support mental health and wellbeing |
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Involvement of children, young people, parents and carers in research |
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Provision of training and consultation for community learning and development workers, those engaged in voluntary sector youth work, social workers and housing staff |
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Provision of training on specific issues ( e.g. aggressive behaviour, self-harm, ADHD, learning disability, mental health aspects of child protection issues) for community learning and development workers and those engaged in voluntary sector youth work |
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Provision of support for youth and community initiatives in developing opportunities for young people to explore emotional and mental health issues |
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Provision of support for youth and community initiatives in developing and delivering activities to promote peer support |
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Provision of support for youth and community initiatives in tackling bullying |
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Provision of information about local support services and access, including internet resources |
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Provision of confidential, accessible and non-stigmatising counselling support for community learning and development workers, those engaged in voluntary sector youth work, and for young people |
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Provision of group support sessions on particular issues or at particular times of stress |
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Provision of support for parents in dealing with issues relating to adolescence |
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