There is increasing concern about children and young people’s mental health in the UK, demonstrated in recent surveys with children, parents, education and health professionals.
The early years are a crucial time for supporting mental health so that our youngest children can thrive now and in the future, and there has been welcome investment in services for them across the UK.
Many local services have a vital role to play in supporting the mental health of babies and young children, from early education and health visiting, to housing, parks and adult services.
However, evidence shows that the mental health needs of the very young – which present differently than in older children and young people – are not well understood and often overlooked.
This can make it harder for professionals to work together to promote and protect mental health at this life stage, as understanding varies across sectors.
To support local areas to consider their role in supporting mental health in early childhood, the UK Committee for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF UK) and the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), have launched a new resource.
The toolkit provides practical support for service leaders, commissioners and policy teams to develop a whole-system approach to support the mental health of babies and young children now, and to develop their capacities to be healthy throughout their lives.
‘Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood – a toolkit to support local action in the UK’ has been designed to help partners from different services and professions to develop a deeper shared understanding of mental health in infancy and early childhood, and the factors that influence it.
It highlights the importance of a multi-sector and whole-system approach to promoting mental health in the early years, and includes case studies from councils (such as Lambeth, see below).
The resources and actions within the toolkit can be used to prompt discussions between local partners around the needs of babies and young children, and how these can be met.
The toolkit can also be used to support planning and future strategies on early childhood, and mental health.
The toolkit is part of UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign, which is calling for a ‘National Baby and Toddler Guarantee’ that would set out the basic services to which every young child in the UK is entitled – including mental health support.
- ‘Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood: a toolkit to support local action in the UK’ is available free on UNICEF UK’s website.
Children’s voice
Councillor Ben Kind (Lab) is Lambeth Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Families
UNICEF UK’s and PEDAL’s new resource will help local areas to develop whole-system approaches to support babies’ and young children’s mental health.
Creatively engaging children and young people is vital and can provide unique insights into how to improve local spaces and services that impact their physical and mental health – especially those for whom traditional consultation processes are not appropriate, like children under five.
Our Child Friendly Lambeth programme is making great strides to ensure our children and young people are at the heart of everything that we do.
For our Under 5s Children’s Voice Project, for example, we gave children and their caregivers disposable cameras that they used to take pictures of places they liked to go with their families, and things that make Lambeth special.
This has helped us to develop plans that take into account the mental and physical health of babies and young children both now and in the future.