Social Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Children may periodically display emotional, social and behavioural difficulties and some children may have a short term mental health difficulty. These difficulties may be the result of other underlying difficulties and circumstances such as a loss or bereavement.

These difficulties may be displayed through:

·         withdrawn or isolated behaviours

·         challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviours

This behaviour may be disrupting the child’s progress with learning or the learning of other children.

Relatively few children’s difficulties are severe and long-standing and not a short term response to stress or traumatic events such as bereavement or family breakdown. They may, over a sustained period of time, present:

·         extremely withdrawn behaviours

·         self-harming behaviours

·         anxious behaviours

·         a serious threat to their own or others safety

·         particularly challenging, uncooperative, destructive and disruptive behaviours

·         significant physical and verbal aggression or sexually inappropriate behaviour

·         difficulty engaging with activities set by adults.

These children will require: A graduated approach which draws on very detailed interventions and support approaches and specialist expertise in successive cycles of assessment, planning, intervention and review; ensuring interventions match needs. These children may require an EHC Plan