6.5.4 Schools attached to Child and Young Person Mental Health Services units

6.5.4 Schools attached to Child and Young Person Mental Health Services units

The Department funds education provision in four on-site schools attached to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services inpatient units

A small number of children and young people occasionally experience mental health difficulties to the extent that they cannot function effectively in their daily lives without accessing the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). These children and young people remain in their mainstream schools while being treated for their mental health difficulties. A very small cohort of children and young people experience severe and often complex mental health disorders. They may be referred to CAMHS inpatient units in order to achieve clinical improvement and successful reintegration into home, education and social activities.

There are four schools attached to these CAMHS inpatient units that seek to provide continuity of education for children and young people who are temporarily absent from mainstream school due to their medical needs. They also seek to support the young people’s reintegration into mainstream education at the end of their stay in the unit. CAMHS education programmes run concurrent to a young person’s therapeutic engagement while attending the CAMHS inpatient unit.

Inspection findings highlight the nature and breadth of curricular and co-curricular provision in schools attached to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services units; there is considerable variation in the quality of planning and assessment

The four CAMHS schools were evaluated in 2019 and a report, Review of Education Provision in Schools Attached to CAMHS Units, which presents the collated findings, was published by the Department in July 2020. Inspectors noted the variety of governance structures for the four schools, the very effective leadership and management practices in some schools, and the broad range of educational supports in place in all four schools. The report highlighted the holistic nature and breadth of curricular and cocurricular provision in these schools. There was positive commentary on the commitment of teachers to CPD, and the provision of appropriate learning plans, including the continuation of modules for school programmes, such as the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA).

There was, however, some variation in the quality of practice in the four schools. The quality of available written evidence for planning and assessment practices ranged from good to poor. While these schools face considerable challenges with planning for pupils/students whose attendance may be transient, attention to information that can help to ensure continuity of learning for such pupils/students is all the more important. Attendance records also varied in the level of detail presented. Some, though not all, schools had built up very close relationships with pupils’/students’ base schools and centres for education.