By Andrew Chadwick is a former Headteacher and SMHL, and is currently Safeguarding, Ambition and Inclusion Lead at Focus-Trust. In this article he gives some essential advice for anyone new to the senior mental health lead role.
Article originally published in Headteacher Update Magazine 11.03.2024 – accessible here
The senior mental health lead role is challenging and there never seems like enough time in the day to do it justice. However, the role is fundamental to the positive wellbeing of pupils and staff in school.
In education, we are all taught about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and it is worth reflecting on just how important things beyond physiological requirements, such as a feeling of belonging and wellbeing, truly are. Every child deserves to have this at school. However, it takes someone who can lead whole-school change and influence every layer of the school community to begin to go about meeting these needs.
Every setting has its own unique circumstances and challenges. That being said, there are some key pieces of advice I would offer to all those who are new to the role of senior mental health lead to help them hit the ground running, including tips to help you get the most out of the government-funded training.
Don’t try to take on too much, too quickly
One of the biggest challenges I faced when I first started in the role turned out to be self-management. Like many leads, I wanted to do everything straight away, but it is really important to audit provision to identify a few focus areas each academic year and go through a structured change management process. You simply can’t rush ethos change if you want it to be meaningful. This is where the senior mental health lead training course can be particularly useful.
Be brave and have difficult conversations
It can be incredibly challenging to talk about certain topics, such as suicide, especially in primary schools and many staff were deeply concerned about the possible effects. However, it’s far more risky and scary not to have these conversations – it just needs to be done under the proper framework and with the right training (and communications) in place.
Don’t overlook the importance of parents’ mental health
Some way into creating an implementation plan for the year during my senior mental health lead training course, I realised that we were going to need to provide some sort of provision for parents themselves in order to really make an impact. The cost of living crisis and the pandemic exacerbated many mental health problems which, in many cases, are being passed from parent to child.
At my school, we sought to actively include parents in wellbeing initiatives as well as offering programmes like the mums’ wellbeing groups and later one for dads as well. There’s so much stigma around mental health that you can’t go in all guns blazing, sometimes the softly, softly approach works better.
For example, we’re now piloting parents’ cookery classes at another school in my trust as a means to encourage people to socialise and think about their mental health. The hope is that people come for the food and then while they are there we will have a guided discussion on a different wellbeing topic each week.
Let staff have a say in designing new initiatives
We wanted staff to champion wellbeing initiatives everywhere throughout school, as well as being able to benefit from them themselves. To achieve this we consulted all staff on things like the Zones of Regulation and ended up adapting the strategy and making our own resources to suit the needs of our setting.
Setting up a working party for social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs was particularly effective and we found techniques like the “rich picture method” incredibly useful to collate ideas and identify areas of weaknesses.
Think about your gatekeepers
When it comes to making changes to staffing, systems and processes, don’t overlook your front-of-house teams who may be the first point of interaction with parents. They need to be approachable and let you know when vulnerable individuals need help so you can drop everything to be there.
Consider the right mental health training, for the right staff, at the right time
I made it clear in my action plan that I didn’t think a whole-staff approach to training was always appropriate. Teachers’ workloads can be so great that they can simply be overwhelmed and not retain additional information well. When it came to things like trauma training we trained only those who needed it, when they needed it.
Don’t underestimate the power of supervision
Helping pupils with more significant needs can have an impact on staff. Often, especially in smaller primary schools, we just assume that we see each other every day so can check in with each other, but there’s a real power to more structured supervision. We’re currently developing triads of schools that can collaborate across the trust to provide this enhanced support.
You can read more about Andrew’s approach to trauma training in his interview with Educational Psychologist Joanna Wood.
Take advantage of senior mental health lead training
Government funding for the senior mental health lead training is available up until the end of March this year (DfE, 2024). It is not certain that it will be renewed every year so apply while you can. Look for a course that’s flexible and practice-led so that it helps, rather than detracts, from your day-to-day workload and it becomes part of what you need to do.
The course I took was led by educational psychologists at Real Training and the tutor support was excellent. It prompted me to become a lot more strategic in my whole-school approach.
Reflection was absolutely key to the success of my projects. The senior mental health lead training required me to go through a reflective journal. Although at first, I must admit I was a little sceptical, it turned out to be a really powerful tool, alongside regular feedback from my tutor.
Final thoughts
The senior mental health lead role is one of the most crucial in our schools. Of course, finding time to devote to doing the role well can be hard, but remember that the impact you can have across school and on children’s lives is nothing short of phenomenal.
Read more
Find out more about senior mental health lead training and which course is right for you
Watch Andrew’s full review video of Real Training’s senior mental health lead advanced award
Read the full case study to find out more about the impact of Andrew’s action plan at his primary school
Kara Satterley – Senior Mental Health Leadership Certificate
Kara Satterley is Deputy Headteacher and Senior Mental Health Lead at Blean Primary School, an OFSTED outstanding school based in Canterbury.
She has recently completed her senior mental health leadership certificate and shared her experience of how it has made a difference in her school.
What made you choose the Real Training senior mental health lead course over other options?
The online approach with live sessions, the quality of tutoring, and the time to put actions into place and learn as you go along were the main things that attracted me to this course. The fact that everything could be completed online supported both my leadership commitments and my work-life balance.
What was your experience of learning with Real Training?
My experience was excellent. Communication was strong from the get-go and staff were really supportive, particularly when I needed to move cohorts. The training was thorough, relevant, and detailed and my tutor was incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. I also really enjoyed the live sessions; it was so helpful to discuss things with other delegates and learn from others. The online approach provided the flexibility required for me to manage my other leadership roles in school, whilst being able to develop my skills as a new SMHL. The pacing between sessions was helpful, as this enabled time to put actions into place and then reflect and share findings with other delegates.
How has the SMHL course helped make an impact at school?
The course helped to embed the SMHL role in school, with the output being a clear action plan to support pupils. This has fed into our whole school plan for this year. Mental health and well-being are at the forefront of all we do and underpin so many of our other changes at school.
We have recently achieved the WAS award (Wellbeing Award for Schools) and completing the course went a long way to help us change our practice, strengthen our whole school approach, and gather the evidence required to put together a successful submission.
How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with your new knowledge/skills in the future?
I feel more confident leading mental health and wellbeing at school at a strategic level. Decisions have informed the school plan and are underpinned by research. We have formed a team with distinct roles and responsibilities to support mental health and well-being across the school to support our staff, pupils, and families.
Lastly, what are the top three things you were looking to do within your setting, since completing senior mental health lead training?
- Achieve wellbeing award (WAS award)
- Form a team to support mental health and well-being to support pupils, staff, and families
- Use knowledge to have dedicated sections of the school plan to ensure strategic change linked to improving mental health and wellbeing
As part of our commitment to the continuous improvement of our courses and to ensure the most effective learning experience for our delegates, we regularly review our programmes. Our goal is to equip our delegates with the necessary skills and knowledge to make maximum impact in their settings.
We are delighted to announce that we have just released an update to our popular Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing online course. The updates include:
- New multimedia content, in the form of videos and animations of key concepts, make the content more accessible and interactive. See an example below from the section on the scaling and standardisation of psychometric tests
February 2025: Latest Update
The SMHL Government Funding Grant application has now closed. However, you can still join our courses without funding. Please explore our Senior Mental Health Lead Certificate and Senior Mental Health Lead Advanced Award to find out more.
Senior Mental Health Lead Training – how to apply for grant funding
February 2024: The Department for Education (DfE) has announced an additional year of grant funding for senior mental health leads, for all state-funded schools and colleges in England. They will also be offering second grants for eligible settings who have used their funding but whose Senior Mental Health Lead has left.
‘Second grants can be claimed by eligible schools and colleges if the senior mental health lead they previously trained left their setting before embedding a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing.’
Eligible settings can apply for a senior mental health lead training grant. Second grants are available for settings who have used their funding but whose SMHL has left.
This article provides information on how to apply for grant funding for the Real Training Senior Mental Health Leadership courses.
We are pleased to share that further funding available for senior mental health lead training, means that up to two thirds of eligible settings will have the opportunity to benefit from the training. Applications are now open, and in this article, we guide you through the steps to complete the process.
Step 1 – Read the guidance for grant funding to ensure eligibility
The DfE has published a comprehensive guide to applying for grant funding. Initially, we recommend you visit this page, which offers a useful overview of topics such as what the grant must be used for, eligibility criteria when to complete the submission and so on. It will also provide information regarding creating a ‘DfE Sign-in account’ which is necessary in order to access the form.
You can also visit this page which will offer more information on the conditions of the grant and application guidance. We highly recommend you read all of this information to avoid submission errors that could delay or invalidate your application unnecessarily.
Note: if you are not eligible for funding, don’t worry as we have non-funded places available too. Our courses are just as relevant to those working in non-state or international settings as well.
Step 2 – Decide on the course you wish to apply for grant funding
In order to receive the grant payment, you will need to confirm to the DfE which training course you have chosen.
At Real Training, we offer two DfE quality-assured Senior Mental Health Leadership courses. Click the links below to visit our course pages and learn more or visit our guide to senior mental health lead training overview page.
Senior Mental Health Leadership Certificate (SMHLC) – aimed at those who are new to a Senior Mental Health Leadership role or are aspiring to become a leader in this area.
Senior Mental Health Leadership – Advanced Award (SMHLAA) – aimed at those who have some experience in the role, and have some existing training in mental health leadership.
If you are unsure which of these is best for you, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our experienced course advisors who will be happy to help, either by email info@realgroup.co.uk or by phone on +44 (0)1273 35 80 80.
We encourage you to apply for a grant BEFORE you book a course if your place is reliant on this funding.
Step 3 – Collate information for your setting in preparation for application
It is important to ensure you have the relevant information to hand in and that certain conditions are met before commencing the application process. This includes, but is in no way limited to:
- Having a commitment from your setting’s senior leadership team to develop a whole school, college or centre approach to mental health and wellbeing
- Details of your senior mental health lead, who will receive the training in 2023 to 2024 financial year, to oversee your setting’s whole school, college or centre approach
- Authority to submit a claim for this training grant on behalf of your educational setting
Having this information readily available will enormously reduce the time it takes to apply and helps ensure correct information is provided first time.
Step 4 – Complete the application form
Once you have all of the necessary information required, you can access the form here. At this point, you will need to log into your DfE account. It is important to check all the details that the DfE holds for your account – you can complete this form if any of them are incorrect. You will then be guided through the application form, step-by-step.
Once complete, you will be asked to agree to the declarations set out in the grant terms and conditions. You will then receive an email of confirmation, containing your claim reference. It isn’t possible to make amendments to the application form once submitted. However, if errors have been made or circumstances change, you can submit another application, the details of which will be used, and previous applications disregarded.
Step 5 – Book your course
Once you have received confirmation of your grant, you can visit our booking form to book your place on one of our Senior Mental Health Leadership courses.
Step 6 – Confirm your chosen course with the DfE
The DfE will ask you to complete a further form to confirm that you have booked your chosen course. This form should appear right after completing the first form. This will enable them to authorise payment of your grant.
Key dates:
- Complete application form 1 by 31 December 2024 to reserve a grant
- Book your DfE quality assured training course by 31 January 2025
- Start your training course by 31 March 2025.
Improving mental health and wellbeing has risen to the top of the agenda for all schools. One powerful way to do this is to strengthen the role of pupil voice within your setting.
Demonstrating to young people that their views and experiences matter improves their sense of belonging and helps them feel like valued members of the school community. It also means that wellbeing initiatives are more likely to become part of the fabric of school life.
In practice, achieving this requires more than handing out surveys designed by adults once a term. It also means going further than just asking the usual suspects for their opinions. Rather, there should be designated ways for all children’s voices to be heard when they feel they need to express something.
In this article, we highlight examples of how primary and secondary school pupils can take the lead in wellbeing initiatives, and some tips to make gathering pupil voice more inclusive.
Including Pupil Voice in Your Whole-school Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing
Pupil voice is an essential part of a whole-school approach, below are some practical examples of how schools are approaching this.
Wellbeing ambassadors; groups of children trained to promote wellbeing throughout school as well as feeding back ideas and opinions. They can also offer a listening ear to younger children who may feel more nervous speaking to adults. Various training schemes exist, including those from Worth-it and Eikon.
In primary schools ambassadors might co-produce, lead or help to coordinate things such as:
- Kindness trees
- Motivational message displays
- Wellbeing assemblies
- Happiness walks
- Lunchtime music clubs
- WOW Wednesdays with lunchtime games
Take a look at what younger wellbeing ambassadors are doing in Rochdale for example;
In secondary schools there is even greater scope for the ambassadors to lead initiatives such as;
- Anti-racism campaigns (e.g. leading a ‘spotlight on identity’ session during house mornings)
- Exam anxiety drop-in sessions
- Lunchtime “walk and talk” mentoring sessions for pupils in transitioning years
- Wellbeing cafes and hubs
- Co-designing stress flashpoint surveys and creating management tips
- Co-creating guides to mental health and wellbeing
You might also want to consider trust-wide initiatives such as the one below at Belle Vue Girls’ Academy;
Student councils; are a great way of getting feedback on any issues in school that touch on mental health. The disadvantage is that they have a broad remit of issues to tackle and only a small number of pupils can get involved and they are usually voted in by peers. Some school councils – even in secondary schools, still have their agendas set entirely by adults, which limits their ability to really get to grips with issues young people want and need to explore.
Anti-bulling Ambassadors/Young Carer Groups/LGBTQ+ groups/ Young Sports Ambassadors; there are lots of programmes and groups that may already exist in your setting that have an important role to play when it comes to voicing opinion and actively shaping mental health and wellbeing initiatives.
Meet and greeters at school gates/peer mentors; can help listen to children who are feeling worried and act as a voice for quieter pupils. They also can provide feedback on how they think wellbeing initiatives are working. Just like the wellbeing ambassadors, however, they should not be the first point of call for children already requiring mental health intervention and they should know how to signpost children to adults should they happen to disclose anything significant.
Surveys; provide a quantifiable way of doing a temperature check on wellbeing across the school, as well as seeking feedback on initiatives. By planning ahead you can segment data and drill down into which groups are feeling distress more often, to bring focus to wellbeing initiatives. The limitation, of course, is that bias can enter question design, surveys rely on children being able to comprehend the question and they don’t allow for open-ended discussion. Certain types of wellbeing surveys might benefit from pupil input on which questions to ask – particularly for secondary schools.
In practice: Students from Boulevard Academy have become trained Young Evaluators. They were able to make suggestions which the school actioned including adding mindfulness sessions at the start of PSHE lessons, extending LGBTQ support beyond PRIDE week, improving signposting to wellbeing support and frequency of visits from external providers such as Barnardos, Lifeskills and Advotalk. They have also helped to launch a wellbeing app and accompanying resources.
In practice: Carwarden House Community School, a LAN special needs secondary school, has recently trained nine mental health ambassadors who meet regularly with their Senior Leadership Team and manage campaigns to improve wellbeing and stress management across the school. The school has recently introduced ‘Hub Clubs’ for each Key Stage which their ambassadors autonomously lead and organise wellbeing activities for. They also have a vibrant student council that regularly meets with the SLT.
In practice: Brighton Hill Community School used both focus groups and questionnaires to collect student voice on wellbeing. The results identified a need for more social, face-to-face support and signposting, leading to the creation of their wellbeing square. At lunchtime, pupils can visit zones that include, Freedom2b, where students can discuss how to embrace diversity, Q-space for personal reflection, the YC space, which is to recognise the role and existence of young carers, and the wellbeing space. Student ambassadors are actively involved in providing support.
6 Ways to Make Collating Pupil Voice More Inclusive
Many of the ways we listen to student voice can inadvertently favour children who are more confident or articulate than their peers. This can leave children with EAL, SEND or from poorer socio-economic backgrounds at a disadvantage – precisely the kind of children who may be more at risk of poor mental health. So how can we ensure their voices are heard? There are no easy answers, but a few things to consider;
1. Help student councils become more aware of the voices of vulnerable learners
Mandating the inclusion of representatives from minority backgrounds or with SEND on your council could be seen as tokenism and detracts from the democratic process. You could, however, evaluate the ways pupils can apply. Can pupils submit videos rather than written statements? Can they be anonymously transcribed and read out by adults rather than requiring pupils to stand in front of peers? Do all positions on your council require reps to speak in front of the whole school? You could also help school councils to meet regularly with pupils from minority groups, children with SEND, or adults who could convey feedback on behalf of the pupils they support.
2. Encourage a variety of children to become wellbeing ambassadors or council representatives
You might want to have one-on-one conversations with pupils who you feel might be a good fit for the role ahead of explaining the scheme to the whole class so they feel encouraged to put themselves forward. When opening up a vote, you could consider asking pupils questions like “Who do you feel would be a good listener” so it’s not just the loudest children that get picked. Confidence-building workshops can also help pupils prepare for the role.
3. Find less formal ways to make pupil voices heard
Asking for feedback on wellbeing initiatives in circle time (primary) or tutor time or PSHE lessons (secondary) is a good way to make it less intimidating for pupils to contribute. A hands-up approach might not always be best here, consider things like the Kagan Cooperative Learning approach.
In practice: Winton Community Academy runs Focus Fridays where they select a random group of students each week and bring them together to discuss wellbeing.
“The open discussions on Focus Fridays gave context rather than just questions on an audit, and we thought it to be better than the same students all the time, such as on a council.”
Justine Sebon, Student Welfare Manager, Winton Community Academy
4. Make use of multimedia, suggestion boxes and alternative channels
Allowing pupils to record and upload messages to their teacher in a listening corner, or using free software to upload video messages offers alternative avenues for pupils to voice their feelings. If you aren’t already using them, consider suggestion slips or self-referral boxes or “things I want my teacher to know” boxes in primary schools. Many schools now actively avoid calling them worry boxes to reduce any potential stigma.
In practice: At Marwood Primary School in Devon mental health ambassadors are actively engaged in wellbeing initiatives. Children can write their worries down (independently or with the help of an adult) and post them into boxes and the ambassadors reply back with suggestions to help. They also wear rainbow lanyards and have their pictures displayed around school so that everyone, including students with SEN needs, can easily recognise them and seek them out for help.
“I think that this system has made it easier for our pupils to have a voice – sometimes they just feel more confident talking to an older child than they might do an adult.”
Sharon Sanders, SEND Practitioner, Marwood Primary School
5. Make sure surveys are accessible
Depending upon the severity of need, children with SEND will require different adaptations, ranging from stripping out complex or open-ended questions through to using symbols and pictures. Guided questionnaires with one-to-one support from adults can also help, as can compatibility with assistive technology.
6. Help children who struggle with vocabulary to express themselves
Pictures, symbols, visual clues and sign language can help a child with SEND express their enjoyment of a particular wellbeing initiative, for example, whether they enjoy a wellbeing walk with their friends. LSAs should also feed feedback on any well-being initiatives they think need to be adapted so that pupils with SEND can take part.
More generally, pupils should also be encouraged to express their feelings and wishes through a variety of means. Many educational psychologists use techniques like the three houses, genograms, and “all about me” profiles, while family support groups can also be a good way to listen to children’s views with the support of others.
In practice: Thornbury Primary School has a high number of pupils with speech and language difficulties. Children have individual ways of signalling that they are seeking a conversation, such as using traffic light cards, putting an item on the teacher’s keyboard, or sharing a journal. They also use colour-coded speech bubbles, worry boxes and ‘Animal Aces’ which are personas that bring the school’s values to life.
“Pupil voice is not something we find out about, as leaders, simply in termly monitoring activity. Pupil voice is implicit in every part of the school day, from a passing comment in the corridor to a debate in the classroom.”
Claire Hardisty, Headteacher, Thornbury Primary School writing in Teacher Times.
Ask, Listen, Act, Feedback
Pupil voice strategies will only be successful if schools can demonstrate they are acting on the information disclosed. Staff need to be ready to listen to mental health concerns, governors need to make space on agendas for listening to pupil viewpoints on wellbeing and school leaders need to explain to pupils why some ideas are implemented over others. If you don’t already have a wellbeing link governor you might consider appointing one and ensure that this person is looking closely at pupil voice.
“You said, we did” assemblies are also useful feedback mechanisms, as are form tutor sessions, newsletters and noticeboards. Finally – don’t forget to update your mental health policy, school action plans and child-friendly versions of these documents. Doing the above will help lay the groundwork to align staff, systems and processes with pupil voice so that it starts to become embedded into your school ethos.
Further Resources
- Confidence-building worksheets: (Free resources from ELSA) available here
- Five Ways to Wellbeing – activity ideas for wellbeing ambassadors (Eikon) available here
- Primary/Secondary Children’s Mental Health Week Resources (From Place2Be) available here
- Best practice for school councils: (A guide issued by Involver, a social enterprise) available here
- How to stay mentally healthy during exams: (Resource from YoungMinds charity) available here
- Creative film workshops for young people (HeyDey Films) more information available here
- Tips for helping autistic children develop a sense of identity: (Raising children Australian parenting site) available here
- Complete guide to the Senior Mental Health Lead role (Real Training) available here
This week is Children’s Mental Health Week run by leading charity, Place2Be. The theme this year is My Voice Matters and in order to help, we’ve pulled together an infographic with our top tips for strengthening pupil voice in school wellbeing initiatives.
According to the latest NHS data, between the ages of 8-25, an estimated 1 in 5 young people (that’s roughly five in every class) now suffer with mental health difficulties. Listening to children’s voices is central to making school-based wellbeing initiatives more effective and impactful.
Interested in reading some real-world examples and mini case studies?
Read more in our blog: Every Voice Matters: Strengthening Pupil Voice in Wellbeing Initiatives
Andrew Chadwick, NASENCO, Senior Mental Health Lead Advanced Award
Andrew is currently the Safeguarding, Ambition and Inclusion Lead for Focus-Education. Prior to this, he was Head of School and SENCo in a primary school in Yorkshire.
Andrew is incredibly passionate about delivering high-quality education, and equality, to all children. He has taken the time to review what he gained from our Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced Award below, as well as providing some general tips for anyone new to the role.
What made you choose the Real Training courses over other options?
I found Real Training through the NASENCO qualification. The thing which sold it for me was that I wanted to do an online course that I could take at my own pace, the time that I wanted to use, and when I wanted to do it. Real Training provided high-quality support and an active peer group which was really beneficial. When schools were given the funding for Senior Mental Health Leadership, I knew that Real Training would give great support, high-quality training and real-school life examples. It was the Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced Award training through Real Training, in the list of DfE providers which was a particular draw as I wanted to get the biggest impact for our children as possible.
What was your experience of learning with Real Training?
Both courses were excellent. You definitely get out what you put in. Tutor feedback is really helpful. It was also good to have them gently nudging every now and again and checking in. Contact with tutors is always swift. Campus Online makes things really clear. You know what you need to complete and where you are at any time.
How have the courses helped you to make an impact at school?
The real benefit in both cases is that the course fits in with what we need to do in school. After studying the Senior Mental Health Advanced Award, I developed a training package for staff around trauma, and was able to give this to staff to support individual pupils. I was able to think more widely around mental health and how to support parents and staff as well as children.
How have the courses helped you to develop as an educational professional?
I have a better skill in regards to reflection. I have also developed my skills in building, analysing and then evaluating projects.
What are the top three things you rolled out within your setting, since completing the courses?
- A wider range of training for staff
- Support for parents
- A wider range of resources for school – children and staff.
Related articles:
Read our blog: Getting to Grips with The Senior Mental Health Lead Role
Watch highlights from Andrew’s sixteen month follow-up with Joanna Wood, course leader:
Improving Mental Health in a Yorkshire Primary School: A Whole-School Case Study
Matthew Lee, Real Training tutor and former Deputy Headteacher responsible for Inclusion at ICS Amman, explores what SEN professionals should know before making the move to international schools. First published in the January/February issue SEN magazine, accessible here.
International schools are more varied in their ways of working – so research them carefully
If you are looking at applying for an international SEN vacancy, you need to be selective about the schools to which you apply, as there is a much wider range of schools internationally, each with very different ways of working. If you wish to remain in a more British-based setting for your first international placement, look out for a COBIS school which has recently completed a BSO inspection so you can read the inspection report. You can find these on the ISI or PENTA website, if they’re not on the gov.uk site yet. The main source of information on schools in the international sector is internationalschoolsreview.com where for a small subscription, you can read in-depth reviews from teachers on most international schools.
SEN provision will vary based on the type of school you are in
As most countries across the global South do not have provision for SEN students in specialist provision, there is often a much larger number applying for mainstream schools, and schools are often under a financial pressure to accept students which you may struggle to support depending on your experience. As the schools are nearly all private entities, some of them will be academically selective, and some will be non-selective (however even these schools will often turn away students with the most significant needs). It is well worth knowing the type of school you are applying for and the range of students you are comfortable with arranging support for.
Parents will be informed by local beliefs and cultural attitudes towards SEND
In the majority of international schools, there will be some parents from the host community, who will be informed by their local beliefs about difference. However there will also be expatriates who each have their own understanding. One of the many differences is perhaps how medicalised many American parents’ understanding is, and how much they favour specific therapies like Applied behaviour Analysis (ABA). Many children with autism will go from their international school to an ABA clinic, or have an ABA therapist (often paid for by parents) with them in the school. Some schools even have Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) professionals on staff, and this approach is far more prevalent in international schools than approaches like TEACCH or those based on the social model of inclusion.
There is a greater range of need in most mainstream international schools than schools in the UK
Some of these private schools are selective, and may therefore have a slightly reduced range of needs, however many have financial pressures to accept students in fiercely competitive markets where every student’s fees counts and there can be a lot of pressure on SENCos to accept children (if the SENCo is even consulted). This can result in many students who, in England would be better served in specialist schools where learning is readily adapted to their needs, being placed in a mainstream class with their same-age peers despite their developmental levels. Setting up rigorous screening should be an immediate priority for you for all new applicants, and visiting a specialist school before you leave the UK (if you have no experience) would be highly beneficial as it is more difficult to access this area of expertise internationally where there are only a handful of international specialist schools.
Para-professionals and shadow models are more likely to be present
There’s also greater use of para-professionals, with schools often employing a shadow model where parents will pay directly to an external person to shadow their child. This model has many downsides, as you get little control over the hiring of the person involved. The schools which do not utilise a shadow model will often have teams of qualified teaching assistants. The level of education is a major difference form the majority of para-professionals in the UK, as is the size of the teams which are typically much larger as these people are often paid a ‘local’ wage which is likely a lot less than many of the teaching staff, and they receive a limited benefits package. This can lead to a lot of dependency among children, and a real priority for every international SENCo at the moment is to review deployment in order to promote independence.
It’s worth taking the time to find an online community of SEND professionals
When making the move to working in an international school, remember that everything you take for granted is gone. You will likely be more isolated, and it’s important to build a professional community of SEN professionals online for support. Teaching in an international school can be very rewarding, but it is not without its challenges.
Matthew Lee completed a PhD in Social Justice and Education at Lancaster University, specialising in understandings of inclusion and inclusive leadership. He has been a senior leader in multiple award-winning inclusive international schools for over a decade and now tutors on Real Training’s iSENCO course. He has recently published on international school pastoral structures, the unique benefits and challenges of leadership in international schools, and supporting marginalised groups in international schools.
Andrew Chadwick was a senior mental health lead at a primary school in Yorkshire and is now Safeguarding, Ambition and Inclusion Lead at Focus-Trust.
Dr Joanna Wood, Andrew’s course tutor, caught up with him a year after finishing his course to see what impact the plan he launched had on mental health and wellbeing provision in his school. He also talked to us about how he had taken his learning forward into his new role across fifteen schools at the trust.
Embedding a positive ethos around mental health
Mental health has always been important but after Covid, Andrew found himself (like many), dealing with an increasing number of problems surfacing not only from pupils but also parents and staff. He was keen to avoid a piecemeal approach, where mental health training was only for the few.
“If you want something to embed properly it needs to be a whole-school approach rather than just an add-on.” Andrew explains. “Having a standalone person trained to tackle or troubleshoot mental health doesn’t feel that inclusive. You need a strategy for parents, children and staff; everything that you do as a school community – and someone senior to lead it.”
Hear from Andrew below on why the need for a whole-school approach led him to take the Advanced Senior Mental Health Training course and his tips for embedding a positive ethos on mental health.
Developing an action plan and a tailored trauma programme
In Andrew’s school, there were pupils from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, including individuals whose behaviour was hard to manage, linked to childhood trauma.
Whilst on the advanced course, all delegates create and get detailed feedback on an action plan. Andrew’s plan led him to implement the following tactics;
- a weekly play therapist sessions to tackle trauma
- a drop-in mums-only wellbeing group
- a parent outreach and communication programme via newsletters
- specific staff training for those responsible for pupils who had experienced trauma
- all-staff training on social-emotional needs and mental health
- a cross-staff working party that reported back to the SMHL
- an adapted version of the Zones of Regulation
- wellbeing resources for both staff and parents on the school website
In the below video, he describes his approach to trauma training and the incredible impact it had on one particular student when parents, staff, and senior leaders were able to work together around a unified strategy.
Helping parents with their own mental health – the “penny-drop” moment
“The impact that a parent’s mental health can have on a pupil is massive. The course was really good for that – it shaped my thinking” explains Andrew. “It was half way through doing the reflective journal that I ended up doing a complete 360 to refocus on parental mental health. It was a penny-drop moment.”
One of the other things that was top of mind for Andrew was that some children are very good at masking. “Sometimes issues can be dismissed by schools, especially if the behaviour isn’t immediately obvious or disruptive” he explained. “We took a different view and thought; well if it’s an issue at home then it’s still an issue in school and we should try to address it. As soon as we proactively communicated with parents and they could see we were trying they were a lot more open with us. Building relationships and trust then allowed us to have the more challenging conversations.”
“Rightly or wrongly there’s not as much provision out there as there used to be – we could sit and complain about this or we could do something about it. That’s where the senior mental health role and the training comes in.”
The impact of a whole-school approach to mental health
Adopting a system-wide approach allowed Andrew to create an open culture around mental health. Establishing an all-staff working party helped facilitate this, and he was pleased to see lunchtime cover supervisors and support staff also keen to attend meetings.
Did this system-wide approach ultimately have an impact on things like attendance and behaviour?
Andrew believes so. “I think it did have a positive impact. People were having conversations about mental health more openly and with confidence,” he reflects. “If a pupil or parent was saying they were a bit anxious about coming to school, staff weren’t just waiting on me saying, let’s try this or that. Instead, they were able to say; don’t worry we can help, so when that pupil arrives in the morning we can try one of our strategies to make it easier for them to come in.”
Learning as you go and bringing everyone on the journey
Some of the initiatives he implemented were met with initial reluctance and uncertainty from certain staff which had to be worked through, while other strategies needed to be adapted in order to see success.
For example, the additional attention pupils received after putting themselves in an angry zone during daily check-ins inadvertently incentivised some children to deliberately mislabel their emotions. Although understandable, this needed to be discouraged by making initial check-ins much lighter-touch.
Reflecting on the benefits of the Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced course
For Andrew, the course helped him evaluate his school’s current strengths and weaknesses as well as where they should go next, including more strategic use of the data.
“The course is your day-to-day job and that’s one of the things I really liked. It just prompted me to probe what I was doing and be a lot more strategic.” Andrew reflects.
“As an example, we didn’t just launch Zones of Regulation, we actually looked at what we wanted to get out of launching it. We developed our own school version of it with our staff and they were fully on board and had a say in it which made rolling it out much easier. We were also more strategic around how we used the data from our Key Stage 2 mental health checks and targeted spot-checks for vulnerable individuals.”
Read more: Andrew’s review of the senior mental health advanced course and its benefits
Carrying learning forward working across the trust
Andrew is passing on his knowledge throughout the trust, especially when it comes to teaching staff the power of gentle, casual check-ins, modelling their own feelings and self-regulation for the class to observe and helping pupils achieve this for themselves.
Putting in place quality supervision as well as focusing on staff well-being are his two other major priorities right now. “We want our teachers to know that if they are feeling angry or overwhelmed they can come and knock on the door of a leader and that leader’s going to stop everything and talk to them.”
A new initiative: Mental health cookery classes
Andrew also took the time to share with us some ambitious new plans he has to continue to engage parents. Over nine weeks, parents at one particular school will be invited to cookery classes with a really important, but informal message about mental health delivered by the tutor each week. Incentivising attendance and breaking down barriers using a naturally social activity such as cooking and sharing food will, he hopes, help reduce stigma and also get people talking.
Read more
Explore Real Group’s advanced or certificate-level senior mental health training courses.
Deepen your knowledge of the whole school approach in our blog: Getting to Grips with the Senior Mental Health Lead Role
Read Andrew’s review of our Senior Mental Health Lead advanced course