raukiya
Looking at the indicators above, it is easy to see that SEMH needs can present a huge barrier to learning for some children and young people.
The following statistics illustrate how learning outcomes can be impacted by unmet SEMH needs.
- 99% of children with SEMH diagnoses do not achieve the national average expected academic progress of their peers.
- One in two students who are permanently excluded have a diagnosis of SEMH needs.
In order to engage with learning, children need to feel safe and secure, and be able to focus their attention. They need to feel able to take risks and try without fearing failure. Children with SEMH needs may find it difficult to regulate their emotions and maintain healthy relationships. Additionally, having an SEMH need may cause children to feel socially excluded, isolated, anxious, upset, angry, or misunderstood.
Through early identification, impactful intervention, and preventative strategies, schools can help to tackle the rising numbers of children’s undiagnosed and untreated SEMH needs.
In the ‘assess’ phase of the Graduated Approach, you should be able to identify the particular barriers to learning, and any related support needs, of the individual child.
How Can Schools Promote SEMH Awareness?
In order to raise awareness of SEMH in schools, providers must focus on the social, emotional, and mental health needs of the children and young people in their care.
Our poster, which can be downloaded below, highlights the following key points:
- Specialist knowledge -encourage staff to include SEMH awareness as part of their continued professional development. A personal development plan can help teachers and support staff identify areas for improvement, and plan working towards those goals.
- Strong relationships – prioritising staff-student and student-staff relationships in school, means that teachers, teaching assistants, and other staff know their cohorts well, and can therefore recognise any changes in children’s behaviours.
- Universally understood policies – policies such as the behaviour policy should be accessible and consistent (whilst remembering that, in line with the Equality Act 2010, behaviour policies cannot discriminate against children or young people with a disability)
- Creative curriculums – develop a wider curriculum, and extracurricular activities, that provide opportunities for all students to enrich their learning, and to experience challenge and success.
- Passionate leaders – to achieve whole-school awareness of SEMH, it needs to be a priority at leadership level. The DfE is encouraging schools to appoint and train a senior mental health lead to promote and drive SEMH priorities.
- External providers – in order to fully support needs, specialist services may be accessed. Signposting pupils and staff to resources, organisations, and charities that could further support their wellbeing is also important.
