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<p> </p><p>Schools have a duty to promote pupils' mental and physical development
and are held to account by Ofsted for doing so. The new 0-25 Special Educational Needs
and Disability code of practice, which was put before Parliament on 11th June 2014,
makes it clear that schools should look to identify any underlying mental health needs
that pupils have. To support this on the 16 June the Department for Education issued
new information and advice for schools and teachers on pupils' mental health and behaviour.
This advice helps school staff identify those pupils who may have emerging problems
and provides guidance on appropriate routes of ensuring specialist support where necessary.</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The curriculum gives schools the freedom to address any specific
pastoral issues that pupils may have, and teachers can raise awareness of mental health
issues in PSHE lessons. Additionally, many schools provide targeted assessment and
support. A survey conducted by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy
in 2012 estimated between 60-85% of English secondary schools provide access to counselling,
delivering up to 70,000 sessions a year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>School nurses are in
an ideal position to promote and maintain the health of children and young people.
On 31 March the Department of Health and Public Health England published the Promoting
emotional wellbeing and positive mental health of children and young people pathway.
This provides a structured framework for school nurses, clarifying roles and responsibilities
and giving information to enhance partnership working across agencies to support the
emotional health of children and young people and to ensure early support is offered.</p>
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