What really matters in children and young people's mental health

The Values-Based Child and Adolescent Mental Health System Commission was set up by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, YoungMinds and the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition to give a fresh perspective on children’s mental health. The Commission’s report, ‘What really matters in children and young people’s mental health’ puts the role of schools at the heart of improving mental health services for children and young people. The report led by Baroness Claire Tyler of Enfield calls for fundamental changes to be made to how child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are delivered. Significantly, the report recommends that schools should be able to teach children and young people about mental health in the same way they teach them about literacy or numeracy. The report makes a total of ten recommendations, including calling on governments to formally recognise schools as a crucial component of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health System in the following ways : Schools should be able to teach children and young people about mental health in the same way they teach them about literacy or numeracy Undertake mental health impact assessments to ensure that both schools/education policy and wider government policy and legislation are not detrimental to children and young people’s mental health Ensure that schools are able to identify mental health issues and can easily signpost pupils to relevant support, either within the school or their local community, and have the accountability to do this.