ABSTRACT
There is now compelling evidence that investment in promoting the mental health and wellbeing of children in the preschool and early years can avoid health and social problems in adolescence and adulthood (McCrone et al. 2010; Allen 2011; Khan et al. 2015). Leighton (2006) suggests that schools are the ideal place to begin to address the crisis in child and adolescent mental health. Layard (2015) goes further, stating that the whole expansion in mental health therapy should be on school premises, which provide a much more acceptable location for early intervention than traditional CAMHS settings (British Youth Council 2011). As The Children’s Society (2015) points out, school-based counselling services could go a long way in tackling the poor satisfaction children in England have with their school and overall life experience. This is in relation to helping to address high rates of bullying and general unhappiness in school. Unlike school-based counselling in Wales and Northern
Ireland where this is a legal requirement, schools in England are not required to provide this service. This chapter describes the role of schools in supporting the mental health of children and discusses the specifi c contribution that school nurses can make, including practical strategies that can be employed at an individual, group and whole school level.
