The Children and Young People Policy Development Committee of Redbridge Council met on Tuesday 9 January 2024 to discuss mental health support for children and young people, and the council's progress towards achieving Child Friendly Borough status. The meeting also included a review of previous actions and an update from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Children and Young People's Mental Health

The committee was scheduled to receive and consider a presentation on mental health support services for children and young people. This included an overview of the Redbridge Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2028, which outlines seven ambitions to address wider determinants of health, support young people's mental health, respond to self-harm and attempted suicide, support those bereaved by suicide, reduce suicide in high-risk groups, reduce environmental opportunities for suicide, and reduce mental health stigma.

The presentation also detailed mental health support provided through Children's Centres, which are described as contributing to various council strategies and action plans, including the Redbridge Plan and the Redbridge Early Years Strategy. These centres offer a range of activities for babies and toddlers, focusing on mental health and well-being. The report highlighted that all Children's Centre staff are Mental Health First Aiders and trained in Trauma Informed Practice.

Further discussion was planned regarding mental health support for families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), and the mental health support offered within the Early Help service. The Early Help service operates on two pathways: one for young people open to or waiting for specialist CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) or EWMHS (Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Service), and another for those with mild to moderate mental health needs who are not open to CAMHS. The latter pathway involves joint work with the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) from Education and Inclusion, which provides interventions for conditions such as Tics and OCD, and low-intensity support for autistic children and those with learning difficulties.

The report pack also outlined the specialist mental health offer from partners, including the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Service (EWMHS/CAMHS), which provides specialist assessments for a range of difficulties including depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The Mental Health Support Team in schools offers support for low mood, anxiety, panic, tics, OCD, and low-intensity interventions for autistic children and those with learning difficulties.

Child Friendly Borough Status

The committee was also scheduled to receive and comment on a presentation regarding the council's progress towards gaining Child Friendly Borough status, specifically focusing on the Health (voted badge) and Communications (mandatory badge) elements of the programme. The Unicef UK Child Friendly Cities & Communities Programme aims to ensure that children and young people have good physical, mental, and emotional health, are supported with additional needs, and know how to stay healthy.

Progress against the Child Friendly Redbridge Action Plan was to be reviewed, with a focus on the Health badge outcomes, including tackling obesity, increasing uptake of sports and physical activities, and developing work programmes around mental health with youth groups. The development of a resilience approach and the co-design of school nursing offers were also highlighted.

For the Communications badge, the focus was on sharing information about children's rights, ensuring people know when important decisions affecting children and families are being made, and making communication accessible and inclusive. Actions included UNICEF UK Communications training, developing the Youth Innovation project, and creating opportunities to celebrate children's rights through events and media. The report indicated that a toolkit for Redbridge is being developed, which includes engagement support, insight gathering, training, child's rights impact assessments, and communication channels.

The presentation also outlined the Unicef UK recognition process, which requires measurable progress across six badges, evidence of strengthened practice, and a three-year sustainability plan. The council aimed to begin the recognition process within 2-18 months, potentially making it the first borough in England recognised as Child Friendly by Unicef.

Other Business

The meeting also included a review of the report from the previous meeting held on 18 October 2023, and a verbal update from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. A record of member attendance and dates of future meetings were also scheduled for noting.