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An increase in children’s happiness and well-being as well as a measurable improvement in behaviour and better peer relationships resulted from joint working between schools and professional from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), a new study from the Mental Health Foundation has found.

CAMHS staff felt they were reaching children who would not normally be reached and identifying problems earlier. The services were more accessible to parents and children and less stigmatising. Both school and CAMHS staff reported improvements in relationships between parents and the school, as parents may be more willing to trust CAMHS workers than teachers.

Although most CAMHS which responded to a questionnaire from the researchers were already working with schools, there were wide differences in style. Most were offering consultation and support to school staff on individual cases, but there were others working directly with children and parents in schools.

Barriers to joint working included the large investment of time required, including more meetings and networking time; management complexities, including sometimes muddled lines of accountability; sharing information between agencies.

Some respondents were concerned about duplication of work, with examples of schools being overwhelmed by different agencies coming in.

Sometimes too CAMHS were overwhelmed by the increase in referrals from schools, and were unable to meet the demand. There was also anxiety that professional identities were being eroded, with some professionals feeling deskilled. www.dfes.gov.uk/research