Education

Pilot scheme for mental health plan

Published

8 years ago

September 27, 2017

One in four experience mental health problems: Vaughan Gething

HEALTH Secretary, Vaughan Gething and Education Secretary, Kirsty Williams have agreed a £1.4m investment to strengthen the support from specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to schools.

Dedicated CAMHS practitioners will be recruited to work with pilot schools in three areas across Wales. The practitioners will provide teachers with on-site help and advice, ensuring pupils experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, low mood, and compulsive self-harm or conduct disorders receive early help in schools from suitably trained staff, preventing more serious problems occurring later in life.

The model will enable:

Support for teachers to better understand childhood distress, emotional and mental health problems, and reduce stress experienced by teachers concerned about their pupils, by up-skilling them to recognise and deal with low level problems within their competence
Ensuring that when issues are identified that are outside teachers’ competence and skills, that specialist liaison, consultancy and advice is available to enable the young person to be directed to more appropriate services such as CAMHS or Local Primary Mental Health Support Services, and to support the teacher and school in providing for the young person’s educational needs
Ensuring systems are in place to share appropriate information between CAMHS and schools, shared care arrangements are agreed for those young people requiring more intensive support,and that arrangements are in place to escalate/de-escalate as the young person’s needs dictate

Initially operating as a pilot programme, the initiative will commence by the end of 2017 and cover two full academic years, concluding in the summer of 2020. The results will be evaluated, and take into account a broad range of measures from the perspective of both teachers and pupils.

Wales has led the way in the UK by being the only nation that requires local authorities to provide counselling services in their area for children and young people aged between 11 and 18, as well as pupils in Year 6 of primary school. This initiative complements that work by providing an additional layer of more specialist support in schools.

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething said: “One in four people in Wales will experience mental health problems at some point in their lives. Getting the right treatment at an early stage, coupled with greater awareness of conditions, can in many cases prevent long term adverse impacts.

“This unique new initiative we’re unveiling today will see specialist NHS Wales services extend into the classroom. This will ensure children, teachers and others charged with caring for children in our schools, receive support to promote good emotional and mental health. It will help identify and address issues early, helping to prevent more serious problems occurring later in life.

“One of the Welsh Government’s key aims is to improve the health and well-being of the people of Wales. This will help us achieve our ambition of prosperity for all, while taking significant steps to shift our approach from treatment to prevention.

“We hope this initiative will improve accessibility to support services, better address school related stress, and ease pressures on specialist CAMHS by reducing inappropriate referrals. We also hope it will facilitate a wider culture which promotes and values positive mental health and wellbeing within our schools.”

Education Secretary, Kirsty Williams said: “Most young people spend a large part of their time in school, so there is a clear need for teachers to be able to help and support them should they experience difficulties in life, such as anxiety, low mood, compulsive self-harm or behaviour disorders.

“Through this new initiative, we are making schools places that actively promote positive mental health and wellbeing, providing evidence-based prevention and early intervention where it’s needed.

“For children and young people, it will enable them to have their problems addressed earlier, before they escalate. For teachers, it will help ensure they feel able and confident in dealing with emotional distress, and know where to go to seek support.”

Responding to the announcement, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said: “Teachers and school leaders are deeply concerned about the mental health issues being faced by the children and young people they teach.

“A recent NASUWT survey showed high on the list of issues was the lack of timely and effective access to CAMHS services when pupils exhibit mental health problems.

“Less than a quarter of the teachers surveyed were confident they would be able to get timely support from expert services such as CAMHS and therefore the announcement that dedicated CAMHS professionals will be recruited to work in a number of schools during the pilot will no doubt be welcomed by the profession.

“Going forward however, it will be important that teachers are not expected to take the place of qualified healthcare professionals.

“Whilst support for teachers to recognise the signs of mental and emotional distress in their pupils may be helpful, this must not lead to teachers, already struggling to cope with excessive and unsustainable workloads, being expected to diagnose, treat and manage pupils’ mental health.”

Rex Philips, NASUWT National Official Wales, said: “It is disappointing that, having acknowledged the mental health issues facing children and young people, yet again the extensive evidence of the mental health issues faced by teachers themselves has been ignored.

“The Welsh Government must also act to provide pupils and teachers alike with direct and readily available access to mental health services staffed by professionally qualified and trained staff and also to tackle the contributory factors in schools which are damaging mental health and wellbeing.”

The policy document’s release follows a call by the National Education Union to have ‘wellbeing officers’ permanently located in schools.

“Having a more standardised approach ensuring additional funding is put into schools to employ people specifically trained for wellbeing could certainly be looked at,” Owen Hathway, Wales’ policy officer at NEU Cymru, said.

The Children’s Commission for Wales, Professor Sally Holland, said: “I don’t think teachers can be expected to undertake the mental health work in schools, there are experts who can come into schools to do that with the necessary expertise and training.

“Schools need better and more direct access to mental health services so teachers have someone they can pick up the phone to or speak to in school to get the expert help they need.”

The two-year Welsh Government trial will take place across north east, south east Wales and Ceredigion.

Education

Future of childcare and early education ‘at serious risk’

Published

3 days ago

July 16, 2025

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

MANY childcare providers across Wales will be forced to close due to the unsustainable funding model imposed by the Welsh Government, the sector warned.

Lisa Owen, who has run the Chuckles nursery in Newport for more than 25 years, called for fair funding for providers and parents as she penned a 2,000-name Senedd petition.

Under the Welsh Government’s offer, working parents or those in eligible education or training can receive help towards the cost of childcare for three- and four-year-olds.

But providers receive a £6.40-an-hour rate which Ms Owen warned does not cover the true cost of delivering childcare, with many businesses being forced to run at a loss.

“Childcare providers should not have to fight to survive,” she wrote. “Families should not have to struggle to find care for their children – if we don’t act now, the future of childcare and early years education in Wales is at serious risk.”

In response to the petition, Dawn Bowden, minister for children and social care, said the Welsh Government will invest more than £150m in childcare in 2025/26.

Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MS Dawn Bowden

Pledging to review the amount providers receive each year, Ms Bowden pointed to April’s £1.40 uplift in the rate which had been frozen at £5 for three years as inflation spiralled.

She also raised a 20% uplift in allowable food costs and 100% small business rates relief.

But Ms Owen was extremely disappointed by the minister’s response, saying she has to subsidise the childcare offer at the risk of losing her business.

She asked: “Why are childcare providers having to fund the difference between the rate the Welsh Government has decided and the rate the setting needs to charge to be sustainable?”

The petitioner said: “We are not asking for an increased rate but for the Welsh Government to give us back our businesses by allowing us to charge shortfalls if required, so we can protect the longevity of the business and the future jobs of our teams.”

Ms Owen warned the flat rate and inability to charge for the shortfall meant she lost income of about £75,000, including £50,000 earmarked for a disabled toilet extension.

She said: “It is getting increasingly annoying that the minister keeps writing that the rate was increased by 28% but missing out that in April 2022 the rate was frozen for three years.”

The business owner pointed out that wages increased by 37% in the same period and the UK Government raised employer national insurance contributions (NICs) from April.

She told the Senedd’s petitions committee her award-winning nursery paused investment and will no longer be able to take on apprentices nor pay the real living wage.

In a follow-up letter, the campaigner said: “These all stopped because the Welsh Government will not allow me to charge what I need to be sustainable.”

Ms Owen wrote: “Everyone I have spoken to outside the Welsh Government completely understands our position and how simply this can be rectified. I hope you can see how unreasonable it is to expect a business to support your scheme then be destroyed by it.”

Her nursery was one of a handful in Wales to score “excellent” in all six areas of a joint Care Inspectorate Wales and Estyn inspection in 2023.

“I am not rich,” she said. “Nurseries are no longer ‘honey pots’ due to the huge amount of regulations we have to adhere to and the training we have to fund.

“Everyone is quick enough to say we are expensive but they are expensive to operate: you can’t cut staff, turn the heating down, buy cheaper materials.

“It’s a passion and we do what we do to survive.”

The National Day Nurseries Association Cymru welcomed the £1.40 increase but warned the £6.40 rate was still expected to leave most private nurseries with a shortfall.

The effective rate for childcare providers ranged from £7 to £10 an hour, according to an Early Years Wales report which warned of pressures from wage growth, inflation and NICs.

One provider told the umbrella organisation: “Rhetoric alone won’t change outcomes for children. Investment, collaboration and a long-term commitment to early years support will.

“Ministers must now translate their words into tangible actions that ensure every child in Wales has the strongest possible start in life.”

At its meeting on July 14, the Senedd’s petitions committee decided to write to the minister, seeking a response to Ms Owen’s concerns while keeping the petition open in the interim.

Community

Voyages to Positive Destinations: Young people take to the water aboard Faramir

Published

3 days ago

July 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

YOUNG people from Pembrokeshire experienced the adventure of a lifetime in May, thanks to a unique nautical programme designed for those in care, care leavers, and their families.

The Voyages to Positive Destinations initiative took place on the 27th and 28th of May aboard Faramir, a 22.35m Bermudan Ketch owned by the Cirdan Sailing Trust. The tall ship was moored at Hobbs Point in the Cleddau Estuary, ready to welcome participants for an inspiring exploration of life at sea.

The event was organised through a partnership between Tall Ships Wales Trust, the Cirdan Sailing Trust, and the Dragon Darwin Experience, with generous support from the National Lottery Community Fund, the Port of Milford Haven, and West Wales Freemasons.

First-time sailors

On the first day, 19 young people and adults from local families—alongside representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council—stepped aboard for a Nautical Medley. The experienced crew led a hands-on tour of the ship, both above and below deck, which included a scavenger hunt, knot-tying workshops, and open discussions about sailing and life at sea.

Meanwhile, the Darwin Centre transformed the ship’s galley into a temporary marine biology lab, offering families the chance to explore ocean life up close—from drifting plankton and seaweed snacks to shells and mermaid’s purses.

That afternoon, Faramir set sail with 17 passengers for an overnight voyage. The group fully immersed themselves in ship life—taking turns at the helm, helping to set sails, keeping the galley tidy, and standing night watch while moored off Dale Bay.

Science on the sea

The following day, a new group including six young people joined for a short taster sail along the Cleddau. They explored the vessel, met the crew, and shared homemade cake before joining the Darwin team for more hands-on marine science.

Using a fine-mesh plankton net, participants collected zooplankton samples and recorded environmental data including weather, sea conditions, salinity, GPS location, and vessel speed. The ship’s galley once again became a floating lab, where microscopes were used to identify the tiny marine species gathered.

That evening, Faramir moored at Neyland Marina for an open ship event, attended by around 30 project partners and local dignitaries.

Looking to the future

The Voyages to Positive Destinations programme will culminate this autumn with a longer coastal voyage around southern England, aimed at young adults preparing to leave care.

The Tall Ships Wales Trust hopes to offer more of these transformative experiences in Pembrokeshire, connecting young people with the region’s maritime heritage and building skills, confidence, and curiosity through adventure.

Paula Holt from the Tall Ships Wales Trust said: “For many of these young people, this was their first time experiencing life at sea. Watching them build confidence, work together as a crew, and discover the hidden world of marine life was truly inspiring. Opportunities like this can create lasting positive memories and open new horizons.”

Education

Double award win for Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro

Published

3 days ago

July 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Net Zero school project praised for quality and collaboration

YSGOL GYMRAEG Bro Penfro, Pembrokeshire’s first Net Zero Carbon school, has won two prestigious awards recognising the quality, sustainability, and value of its construction.

Since opening in September 2024, the £13.9 million Welsh-medium school has been widely praised by pupils, staff and the wider community. Now, it has earned top honours at two major national awards:

Delivering Value Award at the Constructing Excellence in Wales Awards 2025
Project of the Year at the 2025 Welsh Government Education Buildings Awards

The awards celebrate excellence in design, innovation and teamwork across the construction and education sectors. Judges highlighted the school’s delivery under tight financial and time constraints, as well as the strong collaboration between the council, contractors and other partners.

A model of partnership working

Commenting on the success, judges at the Education Buildings Awards said: “The success of this project, despite budgetary pressures, a tight programme, and a constrained site, is born from the close, professional, respectful and collaborative relationships between stakeholders. It is something to be celebrated.”

‘A credit to all involved’

Cllr Guy Woodham, Pembrokeshire’s Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, said: “I am delighted with these awards. They reflect the consistently strong work being done to improve our school learning environments, and are a credit to everyone involved in the project.
The school is a real achievement for Pembrokeshire, delivered despite significant challenges.”

Sustainable design and community impact

Robert Williams, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction, added: “To see Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro recognised with not one but two awards is incredibly rewarding and testament to the collaboration between our teams, Pembrokeshire County Council, and the Welsh Government.

“As Pembrokeshire’s first Net Zero Carbon school, we’ve delivered first-class educational facilities while setting new standards for environmental responsibility in school construction.”

Work on the school began in March 2023, with the keys handed over to Executive Headteacher Dafydd Hughes in July 2024. The school currently has 160 pupils enrolled.

The project was funded through the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme and Pembrokeshire County Council.

Caption: Celebrating the two awards for Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro are, left to right, Council Leader Cllr Jon Harvey, Headteacher Dafydd Hughes and Steven Richards-Downes, Director for Education (Pic: Herald).