Bracknell Forest JSNA Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

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Children and young people’s mental health

A JSNA deep dive for Bracknell Forest

What shapes children and young people’s mental health in Bracknell Forest, who carries the most risk, and where the system could intervene earlier.

At a glance

1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 had a probable mental health illness NHS Digital, 2023

53% of children looked after in Bracknell Forest were affected by poor emotional wellbeing Bracknell Forest, 2024/25

4,800 children living in relative low-income families — around 20% of those aged up to 15 Department for Work and Pensions, March 2025

79% of the borough's pupil population is reached by a Mental Health Support Team Berkshire Healthcare NHS FT, January 2026

Overview and analysis

What is mental health and why is it important?

Mental health is a state of wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stress and challenges they face, achieve their potential and contribute to their community.¹ It is not just the absence of mental illness, but it is linked to people’s ability to take control of their wellbeing.

Mental illness or disorder refers to specific diagnosable conditions that significantly affect the way people think, feel, and ability to manage everyday life. Common mental health conditions include anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder and many others.

People’s mental health can fluctuate and can fall anywhere within the mental health continuum² depending on a range of factors. Everyone, including people living with mental health conditions can experience good and poor mental health.

Good mental health gives children and young people a good start in life. Childhood and adolescence are critical life stages where significant brain growth and social, cognitive, emotional development take place. Having good mental health enables them to thrive, that is they have the ability to face adversity, realise their potential, build positive relationships, and learn and work well. Mental health problems in this period significantly disrupt developmental processes which can have a long-lasting impact into adulthood.

This JSNA profile provides an overview of the policy context, evidence and the local picture of children and young people’s mental health in Bracknell Forest.

Promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people are shaped by a range of protective and risk factors that operate across individual, family, community levels and the society that they live in, as illustrated in Figure 1 below.³

Figure 1 A framework of modifiable factors to guide promotion and prevention of poor mental health in Babies, Children and Young People (BCYP)

Source: Department of Health and Social Care (2024)

Read a description of this diagram

The framework is drawn as four nested rounded rectangles, one inside the next, so that the individual sits within their interpersonal relationships, which sit within the local community, which sits within the wider environment and society. Each level lists the modifiable factors that operate at it.

Individual BCYP level: premature birth; exposure to adversity or traumatic events; attachment; speech, language and communication abilities; physical health and health behaviours; substance misuse; gambling; resilience; body image; social media and screen time; and hobbies and leisure time, including arts, culture and play.

Interpersonal relationship level: quality of relationships with a parent or care giver; quality of relationships between parents or care givers; relationships with peers and adults outside of the home; abuse and neglect; parental or care giver physical and mental health; parental substance misuse; poor experience of being in care; and bullying, including cyber bullying.

Local community level: educational attainment and attendance; a safe, calm, supportive and inclusive learning environment; mental health literacy and social and emotional learning; transitions between stages of education or into employment; quality, security and nature of employment; community networks, engagement and inclusivity; safety, crime and violence; access to health, care and support services; and loneliness and isolation.

Wider environment and society level: poverty; quality of housing and the built environment; access to quality green and blue space and engagement with nature; quality and accessibility of transport; access to digital resources; experience of discrimination, stigma and prejudice; exposure to online, media and advertising harms; conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises; and climate change.

This framework sets out the modifiable factors that influence health and inform approaches for promoting and preventing poor mental health across the life course. These are opportunities for influencing children and young people’s mental health by reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors.

• Protective factors are those that increase resilience, minimise risk of developing more complex long-term emotional/mental health difficulties. They promote healthy development and achievement. e.g. good attachment, good speech and communication skills, safe environments, opportunities to play and form social connections.
• Risk factors are those that increase the probability of a young person developing emotional/behavioural or mental health difficulties affecting wider life chances. e.g. adverse childhood experiences, substance use, poverty

Impact of poor mental health

Around 50% of mental health problems in adults start by age 14 and 75% by age 24⁴, highlighting its long-term impact. Mental health and emotional problems in young people are linked to increased likelihood of poorer physical, educational and overall wellbeing outcomes that affect life chances. This includes increased likelihood of school drop-out, NEET (not in education, employment or training) and engaging in health risk behaviours such as smoking, substance use and criminality.⁵

National and local policy context

In 2018, the Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision Green Paper⁶ programme was launched. The core aim of the programme is to improve prevention and support the early identification of mental ill health in children and young people. Key elements of this programme included:

• the creation of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to work with schools and colleges
• whole school approaches
• mental health leads

The NHS Long term plan (2019) committed to expanding access to community-based mental health services and investing in services for young people with eating disorders and those experiencing mental health crises.⁷

The 10-year health plan for England⁸ outlines a strategy to modernise the NHS through three fundamental shifts:

• Moving care from hospitals and into communities through Neighbourhood Health Services
• Transitioning from analogue to digital
• Moving from sickness to prevention

Commitments relevant to children and young people’s mental health include emphasis on early intervention through expanding MHSTs, rolling out Young Futures Hub as well as investments towards specialist support and workforce. Expanding mental health provision (e.g. MHST and crisis care) is also highlighted in the Medium-Term Planning framework.⁹

Bracknell Forest Council plan¹⁰ emphasises building resilient and inclusive communities and champions a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach. Adopting a HiAP approach recognises and addresses the social determinants of health and wellbeing. It also sets out the borough’s ambition that children have quality education and opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Bracknell Forest’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) strategy¹¹ focuses on timely early help and support, improving capacity in schools and education provisions, good and inclusive education, improving systems and supporting independence particularly during transitions. Creating an inclusive and supportive school environment for children with autism is a key priority in the Council’s All-age Integrated Autism Strategy¹², as well as supporting them during key transition stages.

There is a commitment to support mental health and wellbeing of children in care and care leavers as part of Bracknell Forest’s Corporate Parenting strategy¹³ which includes working with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and training foster carers to support mental health needs.

Understanding mental health needs in Bracknell Forest

In 2023, one in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 years old had a probable mental health illness.¹⁴

Locally, hospital admissions for mental health conditions in those aged under 18 have generally remained below the England average, suggesting that community-based services in Bracknell Forest may be helping to reduce the number of young people reaching crisis point. However, the data shows a notable spike in admission rates in 2019/20 and 2020/21 (in both years there were 40 admissions), likely reflecting the well-documented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Admission rates have since returned to below the England average, with 20 admissions in 2023/24. Hospital admissions capture only the most acute cases and are likely to underestimate the true scale of need; many young people experience significant mental health difficulties without ever reaching a threshold for hospital care.

Figure 2 Hospital admissions for mental health conditions (under 18 years), trend over time

Source: OHID Public Health Profiles, Fingertips. Bracknell Forest figures for 2010/11 and 2013/14 are suppressed (fewer than 10 admissions); 2022/23 is unavailable.

View the data as a table

period	Bracknell Forest	South East	England
2010/11	NA	120.3	92.1
2011/12	75.1	119.0	91.5
2012/13	55.9	106.6	88.1
2013/14	NA	96.4	87.7
2014/15	36.5	77.1	88.1
2015/16	54.3	81.7	86.5
2016/17	90.8	82.8	82.3
2017/18	73.2	86.8	85.8
2018/19	91.4	90.5	89.8
2019/20	146.5	95.4	91.2
2020/21	145.0	102.0	89.8
2021/22	71.9	116.2	99.8
2022/23	NA	83.5	80.8
2023/24	69.8	80.9	80.2

Data quality Data Note: the 2010/11 and 2013/14 numbers are suppressed, less than 10 admissions. Data for 2022-23 is not available due to an issue with submission of data by a local hospital.

The following sections explore the groups in Bracknell Forest who face a disproportionate burden of mental health need.

Dashboard — link to come A Power BI dashboard covering children and young people’s mental health will be published alongside this chapter. The link will be added here once it is live.

Who is at elevated risk of poor mental health?

Certain groups are at greater risk of poor mental health outcomes because of the inequalities, adversity, and barriers to support that they disproportionately face. These experiences frequently overlap and understanding them is essential to designing services that meet needs equitably.

Girls

• In Bracknell Forest, hospital admissions data shows that girls are over-represented across three key indicators: self-harm, alcohol-specific conditions, and mental health conditions in under-18s (Figures 2, 9 and 10). This mirrors national patterns but underlines that the burden of acute mental ill health locally falls disproportionately on girls and young women.
• Census 2021 data shows that 48% of young people aged under 25 are females and 52% males.

Children with SEND

• Nationally, children and young people aged 5 to 19 years with SEND are at substantially increased risk of mental ill health, with around 47% experiencing a mental illness compared with 9% of non-SEND peers.¹⁵
• The recent SEND needs assessment¹⁶ identified 4.3% of the 0-25 population had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and 12.5% of all school pupils receive Special Educational Needs (SEN) support in January 2025. The proportion of pupils with EHCP has grown 113% in six years and is significantly above the England average of 3.6%. Among those with EHCP, 17.6% and 23.6% of those receiving SEN support had social, emotional and mental health as a primary need.

Children looked after or care-experienced young people

• For 2024/25 there were 124 Children Looked After (CLA) in Bracknell Forest (42 per 10,000). This is defined as “falls into one of the following: is provided with accommodation, for a continuous period of more than 24 hours; is subject to a care order; and is subject to a placement order”
• In this same period, 53% of CLA in Bracknell Forest were affected by poor emotional wellbeing

LGBTQ+ young people

• Census 2021 data show that 2,618 or 2.6% of Bracknell Forest residents aged 16 years and over identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) or another non-heterosexual orientation. Sexual orientation data are not collected for under-16s, and age-specific breakdowns within the 16+ population are not published at local authority level.
• National evidence shows that young people who identify as LGB experience higher rates of mental illness (35%) compared to those who identified as heterosexual (13%)¹⁷

Young carers

• Based on the Census 2021 data, 8,770 people in Bracknell Forest identified as unpaid carers and around 4% of which are aged 17 and under or 6.5% are aged 24 and under.¹⁸
• National evidence indicates that around 1 in 3 young carers experience mental health problems.¹⁹

Children from minoritised ethnic communities

• A breakdown of children from ethnic minority communities based on Census 2021 data is provided below in Figure 3 below

Figure 3 Breakdown of children from ethnic minority communities in Bracknell Forest

Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021

View the data as a table

ethnic_group	Aged 15 and under	Aged 16 to 24
Roma	0.12	0.14
Gypsy or Irish Traveller	0.24	0.16
White Irish	0.25	0.32
Bangladeshi	0.26	0.25
Black Caribbean	0.28	0.33
Arab	0.28	0.35
Other Black	0.72	0.30
Chinese	0.75	0.39
Any other ethnic group	0.79	0.85
Pakistani	1.03	0.90
White and Black African	1.23	0.80
Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups	1.59	1.04
White and Black Caribbean	1.69	1.41
Black African	1.93	1.89
Other Asian	2.20	3.28
White and Asian	2.80	1.66
Indian	3.68	1.83
Other White	5.55	5.64

Children living in poverty

• Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) annually showed that in March 2025 there were around 4,800 children living in relative low-income families, this is around 20% of those aged up to 15.²⁰
• This is likely to reduce in the next publication following the removal of the 2-child benefit cap.

Young people involved in the justice system

• Engagement with Bracknell Forest Youth Justice Team suggests high levels of mental health need in the cohort of young people that they work with. Around 49% of their caseloads in 2024/25 and 2025/26 have identified mental health needs.²¹

Experiencing homelessness

• The trend in young people aged 17 to 24 at risk of or experiencing homelessness is presented in the chart below which highlights an increasing trend and potentially some gender differences.²²

Figure 4 Trend in young people (aged 17 to 24) at risk of or experiencing homelessness in Bracknell Forest

Source: Bracknell Forest Housing Team

View the data as a table

year	Female	Male
2022	35	22
2023	41	24
2024	44	24
2025	55	44

In addition, in December 2025 there were 74 households with dependent children who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This has the potential to impact the mental health of the children in those households.

Local picture and drivers

Maternal and caregiver mental health

Public health evidence suggests that mental health risk accumulates and is significantly influenced by parental wellbeing, relationships and early development.

UNICEF’s nurturing care framework²³ sets out the core elements of care that shape mental health in the early years and this includes good health, adequate nutrition, responsive care giving, safety and security and opportunities for learning. Parental mental health can affect parent-infant relationship and impact on the baby’s ability to form a secure attachment, on their cognitive development and emotional regulation.²⁴ National evidence estimates that around 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience perinatal mental health problems.²⁵,²⁶

Early years

The early years is a key opportunity for prevention of future mental health problems in children. The first 1,001 days from conception is a crucial period of brain development and when the foundations of cognitive, emotional and social capabilities are formed.²⁷

Good parent or caregiver-infant relationships and the wider environment enable babies and infants to learn the skills and tools to become mentally healthy or resilient.²⁸,²⁹

Figure 5 Child development: % of children achieving a good level of development at 2 to 2 and a half years

period	Bracknell Forest	South East	England
2022/23	90%	80%	79%
2023/24	92%	80%	80%
2024/25	93%	81%	81%

Source: OHID Public Health Profiles, Child and Maternal Health Profiles

Figure 6 School readiness: % of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception

period	Bracknell Forest	South East	England
2022/23	70%	70%	67%
2023/24	70%	70%	68%
2024/25	72%	71%	68%

Source: OHID Public Health Profiles, Child and Maternal Health Profiles

School-aged children and adolescents

Schools and colleges have statutory duty to promote the welfare of children and young people including preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.³⁰ Education settings provide opportunities to build skills, relationships and sense of self. Experiences such as bullying, academic pressure and persistent absence and suspension/exclusion can significantly disrupt education and impact mental health³¹,³².

Local school attendance data from 2023/24 and 2024/25 suggest persistent absence (10% or more missed) has decreased in state-funded primary schools but increased in special schools from 25% to 27%. There was also a slight increase in severe absence (50% or more missed) in state-funded secondary schools from 2.25% to 2.83%.³³ A recent study by Loughborough University and ONS highlights the link between mental ill health and school absence.³⁴ Key findings include:

• For children aged 5 to 16 years living in two-parent households in England, absences from school significantly contribute to children experiencing mental ill health, particularly for girls, those with chronic physical conditions, EHCP, SEND and pupils eligible for free school meals.
• The probability of presenting at hospital with mental health issues more than doubles (increases from 1.82% to 3.77%), when absences increase from 0% to 20%, and nearly triples (increases to 5.27%) at 30% absence.
• The effect of school absences on child mental ill health is amplified if the child has other vulnerabilities, for example, a chronic physical health condition, EHCP, or any type of SEN support, or are eligible for free school meals.
• The relationship is two way and so children experiencing mental health difficulties are more likely to have persistent absence in school.

The study also found that for children experiencing mental ill health, having certain types of SEN (i.e. social, emotional and mental health) support in place is a protective factor for reducing absences.

There has been a steady increase in referrals to the Early help team in relation to school attendance from 3% in 2022 to 16% of total referrals in 2025 (<90% Attendance) and 1.3% in 2022 to 6.5% in 2025 (<50% Attendance).³⁵

Taking a coordinated ‘whole-school’ and evidence-informed approach to mental health and wellbeing fosters a supportive environment for children and young people.³⁶ This contributes to a stronger school response to the emerging mental health needs of their pupils and their role in preventing and identifying needs, providing early help and facilitating access to specialist support.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) play a key role in supporting Bracknell Forest schools in implementing whole school approaches to mental health. Since January 2026, MHST has been accessible to approximately 79% of the pupil population in Bracknell Forest, supporting around 30 primary and secondary schools. Local data indicate that activities within the MHST are primarily driven by anxiety, family issues and low-mood.³⁷

Youth Line is a local charity that also offers support to schools and counselling to young people, parents and school staff. The most common needs that they have seen in the past year include anxiety, issues with relationships (e.g. parents, family, peers, social isolation), self-esteem, overwhelming emotions and feelings, school pressures, abuse and violence.

Early help referral data further indicates an increase in needs relating to child and adult parent or carer mental health.³⁵

Figure 7 Referrals into Early Help by calendar year with identified needs relating to child and adult mental health

Source: Bracknell Forest Early Help service

View the data as a table

year	Child	Adult
2022	18.89	8.48
2023	32.93	15.80
2024	34.09	31.33
2025	29.41	27.94

Complex needs

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that happen in childhood or young people. This can include physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, household dysfunction involving parental substance use, or involvement in crime.³⁸

Cumulative exposures to ACEs are key drivers of poor mental health in adolescents and have been linked to increased likelihood of developing major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, substance use (including alcohol dependence), self-harm and suicide attempts in adulthood.³⁹ In the SafeLives National Dataset on children and young people in domestic abuse services, 41% were experiencing low mood and 50% were experiencing anxiety.⁴⁰

Bracknell Forest Domestic Abuse Strategy 2022 to 2024⁴¹ recognises children and young people witnessing domestic violence as victims in their own right. It highlights the importance of provision of early and responsive support.

Referrals into Early Help service provides an indication of needs relating to ACEs in Bracknell Forest provided below.

Figure 8 Referrals into Early Help by calendar year with identified needs relating to ACEs

need	2022	2023	2024	2025
Abuse/neglect within the household	2.04%	4.18%	6.01%	5.72%
CSE	2.49%	4.79%	8.93%	5.88%
Adult involved in crime or ASB	0.23%	0.82%	2.60%	1.14%
Adult substance misuse	1.58%	3.36%	4.22%	4.90%

Source: Bracknell Forest Early Help service

Substance/Alcohol use

Adolescence is often the period when young people experiment with alcohol and substances.

Findings from the national NHS survey of secondary school aged pupils⁴² found that in 2023

• 37% have ever had an alcoholic drink (a slight decline from 38% in 2018). Prevalence increased with age from 15% of 11 year olds to 62% of 15 year olds.
• 13% had ever taken drugs (a decline from 18% in 2018)

Substance and alcohol use is associated with increased risk of engaging in risky behaviours. It can also affect young people’s mental health particularly when substance and alcohol are viewed as a means of managing or coping with difficult feelings or distress.⁴³

The rate of admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions (under 18s) is declining nationally, but there is an upward trend in Bracknell Forest with the latest figures showing 30.2 per 100,000 in 2019/20-21/22 (see Figure 9 below). Local data for 2020/21 - 22/23 and 2021/22 - 23/24 are not available. Data for the South East region should be treated with caution due to data quality issues. Based on the latest available local data (2019/20-21/22), the rate of admissions is higher for girls at 37.3 per 100,000 than boys at 23.6 per 100,000.

Figure 9 Admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions (under 18s)

Source: OHID Public Health Profiles, Fingertips. Bracknell Forest figures for the 2020/21-22/23 and 2021/22-23/24 periods are not available; South East data should be treated with caution owing to data quality issues.

View the data as a table

period	Bracknell Forest	South East	England
2012/13 - 14/15	12.3	38.2	39.2
2013/14 - 15/16	12.2	36.7	37.6
2014/15 - 16/17	18.2	34.2	34.4
2015/16 - 17/18	24.2	32.7	33.2
2016/17 - 18/19	24.3	32.1	32.0
2017/18 - 19/20	30.5	31.7	31.2
2018/19 - 20/21	24.3	32.0	29.9
2019/20 - 21/22	30.2	31.5	28.8
2020/21 - 22/23	NA	28.7	26.1
2021/22 - 23/24	NA	24.5	22.6

Self-harm and suicide

Self-harm is seen as a coping mechanism for overwhelming emotions or feelings of distress.

Recent findings from the Mental Health of Children and Young People survey⁴⁴ indicate that children and young people with a probable mental disorder were more likely to have self-harmed.

• 5.9% of children aged 8 to 16 years with a probable mental disorder had tried to harm themselves in the past 4 weeks, compared with 0.4% of those unlikely to have a mental disorder
• 10.6% of young people aged 17 to 24 years with a probable mental disorder had tried to harm themselves in the past 4 weeks, compared with 0.8% of those unlikely to have a mental disorder

In Bracknell Forest, Fingertips data show hospital admissions resulting from self-harm among 10 to 24 year olds have consistently been above national averages.⁴⁵ Local data for 2022/23 is not available. The rate of admissions has consistently been higher for girls than boys with the latest data (2023/24) showing at 621.2 per 100,000 for girls and 213.9 per 100,000 for boys.

Figure 10 Hospital admissions as a result of self-harm (10 to 24 years)

Source: OHID Public Health Profiles, Child and Maternal Health Profiles. Bracknell Forest data for 2022/23 is not available.

View the data as a table

period	Bracknell Forest	South East	England
2011/12	314.9	350.9	347.4
2012/13	223.9	350.6	349.0
2013/14	320.1	421.9	414.6
2014/15	211.5	414.9	400.7
2015/16	474.5	470.0	429.3
2016/17	503.8	449.4	405.3
2017/18	530.1	467.2	419.0
2018/19	544.9	470.4	441.7
2019/20	595.2	508.6	436.1
2020/21	503.0	506.8	421.2
2021/22	652.1	549.4	426.7
2022/23	NA	362.4	318.5
2023/24	413.8	307.7	266.6

It is important to note that young people who self-harm may not always seek help and so the true rates are likely much higher. Self-harm can also present as risky or harmful behaviour including:

• Using drugs or alcohol
• Risky sexual behaviour
• Disordered eating
• Excessive exercising

Studies have shown that repeated self-harm in adolescents is correlated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and stress and is a strong predictor of suicide.⁴⁶

Key local services and assets

Early years

• Universal health visiting service provides evidence-based advice on perinatal mental health and the emotional, physical and social development of infants and young children. Targeted support is provided where needed.
• Child development centre for children aged 0 to 5 with SEND
• Family Hubs offer universal and targeted programmes via the Early help service
• Homestart Bracknell Forest support parents with young children who are dealing with issues such as isolation, mental health, sickness, disability, multiple birth, domestic abuse and difficult relationships
• Family Safeguarding Model uses a collaborative and whole-family approach to working with children and families and aims to support parents to create sustained change for themselves and for their family

Schools

• The MHSTs are part of the Getting Help Services provided by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. As part of this offer, schools are supported by a team of Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP) in delivering interventions with children and young people and parents and in implementing whole school approaches. Community approach is also taken to ensure interface with early help, the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and GPs.
• Whole school approaches which incorporate 8 principles³⁶. In Bracknell Forest, this includes:
  • access to training via the MHSTs which include self-harm, understanding emotions and anxiety
  • option to buy-in additional targeted support for instance via Youth Line which includes counselling services in schools
  • embedding mental health and wellbeing within the curriculum e.g. via Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) and Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)
  • monitoring of wellbeing of pupils through school health survey
  • ethos and environment e.g. anti-bullying policy, respectful communication
• School nursing service as part of 0-19 services can also contribute to early identification, support, and coordination of care. The Chat health text messaging service provides a platform for young people and parents to reach out to school nurses to seek advice.
• The Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme brings specialist health and education professionals and expert parent carers into mainstream primary schools to shape whole school SEND provision, provide early interventions at school level, upskill staff, strengthen partnership between schools and parents or carers. In 2024/25, 28 primary schools in Bracknell Forest and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead took part in the project.

Community

• Stepping Stones Recovery College is a local charity that supports people who may be recovering from mental illness, trauma, addiction, or struggling with social isolation. They offer free courses and workshops, volunteering opportunities and peer support to Bracknell residents to help build confidence, skills and resilience.
• Kooth is a free, confidential online support and counselling service for young people aged 11 to 17
• Youth Line provides a free, confidential counselling service for young people of secondary school age and up to 25 in schools and in the community
• The Wayz Youth club offers a wide range of activities and projects for young people 8 to 17 years. This includes outreach and detached youth work in the surrounding areas, social action projects, tiered volunteering opportunities, holiday programmes, trips and residentials during school holidays, a German exchange with Bracknell’s twin city of Leverkusen, community fun days, and other opportunities
• Targeted Youth Support Service for young people aged 11 to 19. It also supports those up to 25 who have SEND. Young people are referred to the service to receive help with specific issues in their lives including facing difficulties at home, struggling with mental health, risks of dropping out at school.
• Braccan Walk Youth Hub is a dedicated space for young people which hosts various groups for young people (access by referral only)
• NHS Berkshire Talking Therapy for anxiety and depression is a free and confidential service offering effective treatment for common mental health problems such as low mood, stress, or worry. This option is available to young people aged 17 and over.

Specialist

• Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides a specialist mental health service for children and young people.
• The Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) provides a service for individuals including 16 and 17 year olds who are no longer in full time education and who are suffering from mental illness or severe emotional distress.

Stakeholder insights

Interviews with professionals working in mental health services highlighted the strengths in the system. This includes effective, collaborative working between Early Help, Getting Help and Getting More Help services. This ensures that young people are able to receive the appropriate support that they need.

Seeking help early

Stakeholders identified that more could be done in the preventive and early intervention space. One service highlighted that young people and families tend to delay seeking help and engage when they are in crisis. This leads to more complex and potentially high-risk (e.g. self-harm and suicide ideation) presentations (see also Figure 10 above).

A number of reasons for late presentations were discussed including stigma, low mental health literacy and systemic barriers (e.g. limited capacity). A focus group with young people carried out by Stepping Stones Recovery College also found that young people did not know what services were available for them and navigating the complex system when they are already struggling is ‘overwhelming’. Some young people felt that the non-mental health professionals around them lacked the understanding and knowledge of mental health which further prevented them from initiating conversations and receiving appropriate support.

Suggestions around strengthening protective factors in Bracknell Forest include expanding universal services such as youth centres to provide safe and informal spaces for young people and where they can be appropriately supported by professionals and trusted adults. Expanding access to MHSTs to 100% coverage was also deemed key to ensure there is consistency in whole school approaches and access to all pupils across the borough.

Receiving support

For some young people, finding the language to articulate their mental health needs is a challenge and was highlighted as a barrier even when receiving interventions which require verbal and cognitive skills to identify and express thoughts. For this reason, a needs-led approach and flexibility is seen as more effective in engaging young people. This should incorporate sufficient time for the young person to build trust. Young people from the focus group with Stepping Stones reported feeling ‘rushed’ which prevented them from addressing complex underlying issues. Young people expressed that they value professional empathy, compassion and talking to someone who was genuinely interested in their experiences.

Stakeholders reported mixed feedback around online mental health support although this is still valued by some young people.

System-response

Stakeholders raised that children and young people’s mental health concern is increasing. This is reflected in the referrals and enquiries that they are receiving in their respective services including GPs, Early Help and Targeted Youth Work, Chat Health.

Embedding a ‘no-wrong door’ approach would ensure that young people and families seeking help through any channels are supported to access the most appropriate service.

This need was echoed in the stakeholder feedback from the SEND needs assessment where they highlighted the lack of a joined-up system response to supporting children and families with complex needs that include SEND, poor attendance and Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), and trauma.

Areas for improvement

• Strengthening early intervention and prevention across the life course. This includes strengthening perinatal and early years support, particularly around parental mental health, expanding preventative and resilience-building approaches in community and school settings and intervening earlier to reduce progression to crisis-level need
• Improving awareness, access and navigation (“no wrong door”) ensuring that any contact point leads to appropriate support.
• Expanding access to early support (including MHST coverage and strengthening the interface between schools, early help and specialist services)
• Addressing increasing complexity and co-occurring needs in light of growing complexity in presentations, including co-occurring mental health and SEND needs, trauma and adverse childhood experiences and poor school attendance and EBSA. There is a need for more integrated, multi-agency responses to complex needs and pathways that meet overlapping vulnerabilities
• Strengthening support for neurodiversity and SEND-related mental health needs. There is an opportunity to improve support pre- and post-diagnosis, reducing reliance on formal assessment pathways and strengthen inclusive practice in schools and community settings
• Improving timeliness, experience and appropriateness of support ensuring services are needs-led and flexible and focused on building trust, empathy and relationship-building
• Reducing inequalities and targeting high-risk groups by explicitly targeting prevention and support to the groups identified who have elevated risk of poor mental health
• Strengthening system integration and partnership working. While stakeholders highlighted strong collaboration in parts of the system, there are ongoing challenges around fragmentation, particularly for children with complex needs to ensure families experience a more joined-up system of support
• Improving local data, insight and outcomes monitoring particularly in understanding unmet need and hidden demand, outcomes across pathways, and variation between population groups

References

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