MENTAL health specialists will be sent into Brighton and Hove primary schools following reports of several incidents of self-harm each day.

Self-harming in the city has increased by 40 per cent between 2010 and 2013 and Brighton and Hove also has significantly higher rates of hospital admissions for young people self harming with 281 reported incidents in 2012/13.

Headteachers told council bosses the emotional and mental health of pupils is an "increasing concern" with some reporting several incidents of self-harm each day.

Mental health workers will now go into Carlton Hill, Woodingdean, Bevendean and Cottesmore St Mary’s primary schools with another three yet to be confirmed.

Woodingdean headteacher Jonathan Whitfield said he refers around 20 children a year to social services who are presenting mental health issues.

He said: “Often these issues can be quite hidden and can range from emotional distress to withdrawal from certain situations.

“With primary school children, the problems are a very good gauge of what they’re dealing with outside of school."

He added: “When this is brought in, I can’t see there ever being a stigma around it because we’re already promoting children to be honest and open.

“Sometimes it’s tricky referring a child, but parents are alongside us with this and they understand what we’re trying to do.”

Mental health specialists are already in place at three secondary schools in Brighton and Hove – Patcham High, Cardinal Newman and Dorothy Stringer – to tackle problems among students.

Brighton and Hove City Council officers have said they aim to tackle the problem by educating early.

Conservative councillor Vanessa Brown wants the specialists to be rolled out in every city secondary school in the city by September 2016.

She said: “I just hope there is sufficient will and sufficient resources to roll it out across all the secondary schools maybe the following year.

“It’s about early intervention and stopping it escalating."

The project was discussed on Monday at the local authority's children, young person and skills committee.

Committee chairman Tom Bewick said: “Of course we want an education system that gets the best out of pupils and that they max out academically, but there’s more to it than exam results.

“Ensuring the health and wellbeing of our students is absolutely vital.”

Narrative

ARTHUR has only been at secondary school for a few weeks.

At primary school he was outgoing and at the top of the class.

Even at the beginning of term he was excelling in all his subjects and making new friends, but his parents and teachers noticed a change in him.

He is now quieter around school, is struggling with work he previously found easy and has become withdrawn in the classroom.

Teachers have been trained up by the school’s primary mental health worker – a specialist who works two and a half days a week on site – to spot how potential mental health issues present themselves.

Arthur’s behaviour is in line with the classic signs of mental health and he is mentioned each week at a special meeting.

The Wednesday get-together – called Panel – gathers staff from across the school to talk about various issues suffered by pupils ranging from students failing to mental health concerns.

That’s when Arthur’s name is mentioned. Concerns of the teachers, parents and other staff are all collated and it’s decided he needs extra support to stop the symptoms escalating.

The following day, Arthur has a one-to-one meeting with the primary mental health worker.

Nothing too formal, just a chat about school, life and his problems.

From there, the expert will decide whether or not the youngster needs additional help.

A number of options are open to them ranging from the council’s social services to local charities such as Right Here who offer support for people aged 16 to 25 dealing with mental health issues.

For Arthur, it seems to be an issue of making the transition to secondary school and feeling anxious having gone from the best in his class in primary to a cog in the wheel at secondary school.

The anxiety is having a detrimental impact on his work, so the expert decides a workshop with youngsters dealing with similar issues.

The school could also consider linking him up with an older pupil in a buddy system – a programme already running at the school.

He will continue to meet with the primary mental health worker and will eventually be weaned off the support system.

The idea is to nip the issues in the bud before his issues rage out of control – potentially destroying his education. However, it is not exclusively an intervention process.

If a child feels they need to speak to someone, the expert has an opendoor policy.

Parents too can flag issues up that may not be present at school but are noticeable in the home – and the process will remain the same.

Each situation will be treated on its merits and the plan going forward will be hand-picked to meet the needs of that particular individual.

Patcham High School in Brighton has had an expert working with them since September. Since then a few dozen pupils have already been refereed and assistant head teacher Mark Warner believes the project is already having a positive impact.

He said: “If staff are more aware of what a mental health problem looks like and how it presents itself then we’re one step ahead of the game.

“The bigger aim is to get parents involved as well.

“I think the way it’s been explained to me, it can only be a positive if it’s done the right way.

“I think if teachers are aware of how these problems present themselves then it means the children can talk about it.

“If you can prevent something happening then it’s got to be worth it.”

Patcham High – along with Cardinal Newman and Dorothy Stringer – submitted written bids to the council and now all three have a permanent expert on site.

But as well as reacting to potential issues, the project aims to forecast future problems.

Mr Warner added: “We’re trying to look at patterns here too.

“So if we know there is a rise around exams because of exam stress then it means we need to look at putting a network of support in there and get strategies in place.”

As well as gaining crossparty support from councillors, charities are also endorsing the move to get experts in primary schools.

Leila Woodhouse, from mental health charity Mind, said: “We know from our research some local authorities currently spend far too little on promoting good mental health and preventing mental health problems, and others are confused about what they should do to help prevent people becoming mentally unwell.

“Mental health should, in fact, be a key part of every local public health strategy. It currently makes up 23 per cent of the total ‘burden of disease’ in the UK and cost the country an estimated £100 billion each year through lost working days, benefits, lost tax revenue and the cost of treatment.

“This is the same amount of money it takes to run the entire NHS for a year. Early intervention for younger people is particularly important because many mental health problems develop when we are younger.”

Arthur is a composite casestudy and in no way refers to a real person.