Children and young people’s health, especially mental health, significantly declined during the pandemic and waiting times for NHS children’s services, including mental health services, have reached an all-time high. School-based services are key to providing early support to children.

This session will focus on school-based early interventions that support children and young people’s mental and physical health and so enable them to thrive. It will also look at the importance of schools as a system partner in the move from treatment to prevention.

We will hear from the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition about its work on schools and mental health. Place2Be will talk about its work with schools and highlight specific examples about how it supports children’s mental health. The School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA) will talk about the importance of school nursing and give examples about how they support children’s health, including mental health. Both organisations intend to screen videos to bring in the voice of children and to hear from professionals working in this space.

There will be an opportunity for the audience to engage with speakers in a questions and answers session.