2011

There was a consultation on the Common Core of Skills, Knowledge Understanding and Values for the Children's Workforce in Scotland. This aimed to establish what the core skills are for the entire children’s workforce.

The Towards a Flourishing Scotland report gave a commitment to improve the understanding and knowledge of self harm in Scotland. They ran a consultation in early 2011 and a final report which sets out a work plan of objectives was published later in that year.

The Scottish Government issued their Mental Health Strategy for consultation in mid-2011. The document reports on progress made to date, and focuses on 14 high-level outcomes. These include:

  • People and communities act to protect and promote their mental health and reduce the likelihood that they will become unwell.
  • Action is focused on early years and childhood to respond quickly and to improve both short- and long-term outcomes.
  • People have an understanding of their own mental health and if they are not well take appropriate action themselves or by seeking help.
  • First contact services work well for people seeking help, whether in crisis or otherwise, and people move on to assessment and treatment services quickly.
  • Appropriate, evidence-based care and treatment for mental illness is available when required and treatments are delivered safely and efficiently.
  • Care and treatment is focused on the whole person and their capability for growth, self-management and recovery.
  • The role of family and carers as part of a system of care is understood and supported by professional staff.
  • The balance of community and inpatient services is appropriate to meet the needs of the population safely, efficiently and with good outcomes.
  • The reach of mental health services is improved to give better access to minority and high-risk groups and those who might not otherwise access services.
  • Mental health services work well with other services such as learning disability and substance misuse and are integrated in other settings such as prisons, care homes and general medical settings.
  • The health and social care workforce has the skills and knowledge to undertake its duties effectively and displays appropriate attitudes and behaviours in their work with service users and carers.
  • We know how well the mental health system is functioning on the basis of national and local data on capacity, activity, outputs and outcomes.
  • The process of improvement is supported across all health and social care settings in the knowledge that change is complex and challenging and requires leadership, expertise and investment.
  • The legal framework promotes and supports a rights-based model in respect of the treatment, care and protection of individuals with mental illness, learning disability and personality disorders.

2009

In 2009 the Scottish Government Health Department published Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland: Policy and Action Plan describing an approach ‘based on a social model of health which recognises that our mental state is shaped by our social, economic, physical, and cultural environment, including people's personal strengths and vulnerabilities, their lifestyles and health-related behaviours, and economic, social and environmental factors’.

2007

The Infant Mental Health; Guide for Practitioners published by HeadsUpScotland in 2007 made recommendations for training and staffing, and for working with infants, parents and carers as well as raising awareness of the importance of infant mental health.  The Early Years and Early Intervention (2008) joint policy statement by the Scottish Government and COSLA (2008) describes a shift of resources from ‘dealing with past failure to addressing the root causes of current social problems’ and a focus on prevention and early identification of those most at risk.

2006

In Delivering for Mental Health (2006) the Scottish Government made a commitment (by the end of 2008) to a named mental health link person available to every school, fulfilling the functions outlined in the Framework; and to basic mental health training offered to all those working with, or caring for, looked after and accommodated children and young people.  It also determined to reduce by 50% the number of admissions of children and young people to adult inpatient beds by 2009.

2005

The Mental Health of Children and Young People:  A Framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care (Scottish Executive 2005) built on the 10 recommendations of the SNAP report, providing support for local planning and practice and locating children and young people’s mental health firmly within the integrated children’s services agenda.  It identified 5 contexts (early years, school years, community-based activity, additional and specific supports and specialist CAMHS) and provided a detailed picture of what a ‘good enough’ service would like within each context.

The workforce planning and development implications of the Framework were addressed in Getting the Right Workforce, Getting the Workforce Right, A Strategic Review of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Workforce (Scottish Executive Health Department 2005).

2003

In 2003 the Needs Assessment Report on Child and Adolescent Mental Health (widely known as the SNAP report) was published. It highlighted three core themes that have underpinned policy in Scotland ever since.  These are: the right of children and young people to be heard, the importance of mainstreaming mental health and the integration of promotion, prevention and care.

Further Scottish policy

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is a programme that aims to improve outcomes for all children and young people through a shared approach that; builds solutions with and around children and families, enables children to get the help they need when they need it, supports a positive shift in culture, systems and practice and involves working together to make things better. For more information on GIRFEC click here. 

Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework sets out 15 national outcomes, many of which relate directly to children and young people, providing an overarching framework A 'concordat' agreed between the Scottish Government and CoSLA set out the arrangements for implementing the national performance framework, including the requirement for each local authority to agree a Single Outcome Agreement with the Government based on the national outcomes (Scottish Government & CoSLA, 2007).

The Scottish Government has developed ‘big social frameworks', two of which have implications for children and young people’s mental health: ‘Equally Well’ and the ‘Early Years Framework’

Equally Well aims to reduce inequalities in healthy life expectancy and well-being (Scottish Government, 2008), with key priority areas where action was needed including:

(1) Children’s very early years, where inequalities may first arise and influence the rest of people’s lives;

(2) The high economic, social and health burden imposed by mental illness, and the corresponding requirement to improve mental wellbeing;

The Early Years Framework. Covering pre-birth to 8 years old, the framework outlines an approach "which recognises the right of all young children to high quality relationships, environments and services which offer a holistic approach to meeting their needs" (Scottish Government, 2009). The framework identifies four principles of early interventions:
(1) We want all to have the same outcomes and the same opportunities;
(2) We identify those at risk of not achieving those outcomes and take steps to prevent that risk materialising;
(3) Where the risk has materialised, we take effective action;
(4) We work to help parents, families and communities to develop their own solutions, using accessible, high-quality public services as required.

Curriculum for Excellence aims to achieve a transformation in education in Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum from 3 to 18 and places a responsibility on practitioners to extend skills in health and wellbeing as well as literacy and numeracy.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Acts 2004 and 2009 provide a framework for local authorities and other agencies to support all children.

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