18/11/24
The Lab’s mental health prevention work in local schools was highlighted at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust’s ‘Strategy in Action’ event
On Monday 18 November, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust welcomed members of the public and service users to their sixth bi-annual ‘Strategy in Action’ event to share the progress they are making on their five ambitions, with the focus at this event on being “A partner in prevention". More than 175 people attended in person at the event in Lambeth, with more attendees online.
Attendees heard from Dr Jacqueline Phillips-Owen about the SLaM supported mental health innovations happening at schools across South London. One such innovation is the Maudsley Education Consultation Service (MECS): a collaborative programme formed of researchers from the CAMHS Digital Lab, clinicians from South London and Maudsley, and educators from local schools with a shared interest in how schools can effectively support the mental health needs of students.
MECS uses one of the Lab’s flagship digital products – myJournE – to collect mental health data from students and their caregivers, informing improvements in the wellbeing support that schools offer through consultation with school staff, researchers, clinicians and community organisations. To increase participation in the survey and subsequent focus groups, MECS works closely with schools to engage the school community in the project and increase awareness of mental health. Essential to this engagement work is the recruitment of Student Mental Health ambassadors, who advocate for the project in their community, for example by presenting in school assemblies.
We were delighted that four of our Student Mental Health ambassadors (photographed above) from a local secondary school – Maya, Mia, Bria and Andrew – were able to join the strategy event and present on the pressures that affect the mental health of young people today and why they believe that initiatives like MECS are important. They were complemented by the Chair and Chief Executive of South London and Maudsley for speaking so clearly and passionately about the importance of prevention work in schools. We were also joined by Nathan Lyons (SENCO at Hatcham Primary) who has been instrumental in facilitating and participating in the co-design of the MECS process.