Evaluation of Mental Health Named Lead and Joint Training Pilots in Schools and CAMHS

About

The Department for Education awarded a contract to Ecorys for the evaluation of single point of contact pilots in schools and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The pilots were delivered in 22 areas, covering approximately 250 schools, and involved identifying named leads and participation in joint working workshops.

The evaluation included surveys of CAMHS and school leads, a survey of a sub-sample of all schools, qualitative case studies with 10 schools, and a process evaluation of pilot delivery.

It assessed changes in awareness and knowledge of mental health issues among leads, changes in processes and systems for joint working, improvements in the timeliness and appropriateness of referrals from schools to CAMHS, dissemination activities by named leads, changes in wider school staff knowledge and confidence, and changes in pupil perceptions of stigma and confidence in school processes.

The evaluation also examined the sustainability of lead roles after the pilot ended in March 2016, the impact on specialist services, and differences between delivery models.

The process evaluation considered training delivery practicalities, barriers and facilitators to wider roll-out, including CAMHS lead capacity, attendance numbers, and participants' views on training quality.

The contract value was £98,915.