Chair of the Council’s Health, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Amanda Evans, on Children’s Mental Health Week:

This week (Feb 1st – 7th) is Children’s Mental Health Week, and there will be thousands of individuals, schools, youth groups etc taking part in online events, to raise both awareness of the issues and funds for charity. 

The theme this year is ‘Express Yourself’, which organisers Place2be hope will inspire children (and the adults around them) to find ways to express their feelings through creativity of all kinds.

Around 15% of children at primary school and 20% at secondary have a mental health problem, figures that have risen by as much as 50% over the last few years. Children have challenges from bullying to bereavement and many others, issues we take very seriously in Brighton & Hove. 

The Labour administration of 2019 joined forces with other Sussex Local Authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups across the county and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to commission the in-depth and independently chaired Sussex Wide Children & Young Person’s Emotional Health & Wellbeing Service Review. 

This review reported to the BHCC Health & Wellbeing Board (HWB), Children, Young People & Skills committee (CYPS) and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) in late 2020, and provided a wealth of information about what works well/not so well across the services, and provided a positive plan for improvements where needed. The recommendations made will be monitored by the CYPS committee as they are implemented.

For further information about Children’s Mental Health Week, as well as access to free resources for individuals, parents, schools etc, please go to: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/

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Image: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/