9. Education Advisor (CAMHS) Evaluation Report June 25 ECSPB 21 08 25
Renfrewshire Council · 21 August 2025
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 21 August 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Page 1 of 13 To: Education and Children’s Services Policy Board On: 21 August 2025 __________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Children’s Services __________________________________________________________________ Heading: Education Advisor (CAMHS) Evaluation Report __________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1. The role was created and funded by Renfrewshire’s Community and Mental Health Board. This was a temporary post which started in August 2023 with a planned end date of August 2024. 1.2. Due to its ongoing success and the impact being made, the role has become permanent and is now fully funded by Children’s Services. This report outlines the progress of the Education Advisor (CAMHS) role to date and the support provided to children, young people, families and establishments. 1.3. Renfrewshire Council Children’s Services aims to ensure that all children and young people have access to the resources and opportunities they require to develop their full potential. The policy framework, ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’ (GIRFEC) is adopted nationally and outlines a shared understanding for professionals supporting children and young people. It emphasises that wellbeing captures all aspects of a child’s life, including their physical and mental health, and their connections with their family, the community, and wider society. 1.4. Building on GIRFEC processes, it is understood that many children and young people with mental health or neurodivergent difficulties can benefit from universal provision. For some children and young people with more complex needs, specialist provision is a requirement. As such, Children’s Services, in partnership with Specialist Children’s Services, created this key role to improve cross service communication and support for children, young people and families, while they are waitlisted for support. In the short term this role will improve communication between services, offer support to schools, young people and their families and ensure that our children and young people are getting the right support at the earliest opportunity. Longer term, we trust it will play a significant factor in supporting children and young people to increase both attendance and attainment through supporting their mental health and wellbeing .
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Page 2 of 13 1.5. The primary outcome of the role was to improve co-operation and communication between Children’s Services and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). It has developed beyond its original remit to include the Neurodevelopmental (ND) Service, ensuring appropriate support at the right time for our children and young people, before, during and after the process of referral, assessment, diagnosis/treatment and discharge. 1.6. To date the role has received over 1000 referrals. • 100% of Renfrewshire establishments have been supported by this role. • 23% of referrals were from children and young people from SIMD1. • 13% of referrals were from children and young people from SIMD2. SIMD is the Scottish Government's standard approach to identify areas of multiple deprivation in Scotland. It can help improve understanding about the outcomes and circumstances of people living in the most deprived areas in Scotland 1.7. In addition to this, the role looked to: • improve universal professional understanding between CAMHS and Education 1.8. Establish a single point of contact between CAMHS and Education to: • provide rapid response and coordination around specific referrals (early intervention and prevention); • support schools to ensure high quality referrals to CAMHS; • develop a ‘Step-down’ process to create and share discharge plans with schools (wellbeing plan) to support avoidable re-referrals; • explore ways to improve clinical non-attendance rates; and • map existing Tier 2 services and community resource. 1.9. The role of Education Advisor and the strategic priorities set within, have been designed to address multiple strategic points (13 in total) within each of the Children’s Services Inclusion Portfolio Strategic Plan(CSIPSP), CAMHS National Service Specification (NSS) and the Neurodevelopmental Service Specification. Most notable from each service are: 7.5 Develop effective relationships and pathways with key local organisations [education] to ensure the holistic needs of children, young people and/or families/carers are met in a timely and appropriate manner, in line with GIRFEC National Practice Model.- CAMHS National Service Specification 2.5 Build on and contribute to multi-agency care pathways- Neurodevelopmental Service Specification
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Page 3 of 13 Action1. Improved integrated working across all services including Health, Education, Social Work and Voluntary Sector - Children’s Services Inclusion Portfolio Strategic Plan __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1. Members of the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board are asked to note the very positive progress the Education Advisor Service is making in supporting outcomes for children and young people in Renfrewshire. __________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1. Approximately 10% of the children and young people enrolled in Renfrewshire establishments are open to CAMHS/Neurodevelopmental pathways. This percentage is likely to increase in the next 5 years, particularly among those seeking diagnosis from the Neurodevelopmental (ND) Service. The majority of diagnoses from the ND service are, Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 3.2. Prior to the role’s inception, there was no established communication channel between Tier 3 mental health services and education. The referral process from Education to CAMHS was not standardised and knowledge of CAMHS/Neurodevelopmental pathways was not widely understood within education. 3.3. Similarly, mental health professionals had limited understanding of the capacity within education to support the mental health of children and young people, often relying on anecdotal evidence from children, young people and families presenting at clinic. 3.4. Children’s Services and Specialist Children’s Services jointly support the most vulnerable children and young people in Renfrewshire. As such, Education and Health made the strategic decision to move towards a greatly improved collaborative approach to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. The role of Education Advisor which was introduced to Renfrewshire in August 2023 is the first role of its kind anywhere in Scotland. 3.5. It should be noted that this is a multifaceted role with the core components being: • Single Point of Contact for Education/Health Professionals with regard to children/young people accessing or waitlisted within the CAMHS and Neurodevelopmental pathways. • Offering families, educators and clinicians practical advice in the support of children and young people, pre and post diagnosis.
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Page 4 of 13 __________________________________________________________________ 4. Evaluating Impact and Outcomes 4.1. Although this role is still relatively new , feedback from stakeholders gathered from both Health and Education have been used to measure impact. The role has been successful in developing the following areas: 4.1.1. Improve universal professional understanding between CAMHS and Education • Both Health and Education were asked to reflect upon their professional understanding of each others’ role before, and then after, the role had been undertaken. • Both Education and Health professionals highlight a significant improvement in understanding. This has been supported through cross sector training of teachers and clinicians, carried out by CAMHS and Education Advisor. • In addition, this role has ensured that all GP surgeries in Renfrewshire now have an Education contact name at almost all schools, should they require to discuss Tier 3 mental health referrals. 4.1.2. Establish a single point of contact between CAMHS/ND Service and Education to: • Provide rapid response and coordination around specific referrals (early intervention and prevention) To date, the role has been required to support 11 ‘high risk’ incidents where vital information was shared between CAMHS and Education, allowing for co- ordinated support for the young people involved. This included on-going support for the young people on return to school.
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Page 5 of 13 • Supporting schools to ensure high quality referrals CAMHS Prior to the establishment of this role, there was no standardised or uniform referral process to CAMHS. The detail of the referral was at the discretion of the writer and while some referrals offered clinicians enough information to triage effectively, others required further investigation, ultimately reducing capacity of the service and increasing wait time for appropriate support. In collaboration with educators and clinicians a new referral process was created. The number of referrals from education to CAMHS has declined while the appropriateness of referrals has improved significantly. Both sectors indicate this as positive. 90% of CAMHS clinicians felt that the new process was beneficial to their role while 76% of educators found it useful and easy to complete. 4.1.3. Develop a ‘Step-down’ process to share discharge plans with schools Prior to the role, post discharge information to schools was limited. In consultation with children and young people, educators and clinicians, a process was agreed to address this. In the closing weeks of clinical therapeutic work, clinicians will carry out discharge planning with the child or young person. With their consent it will be shared with the Education Advisor who will support school with its application. The purpose of this is to ensure the support around the child or young person is maintained at this transition point, and long term, to reduce avoidable re- referrals to the service. Re-referral data is still being monitored and collected at this time. 4.1.4. Explore ways to improve clinical non-attendance rates As part of the new referral process, schools now highlight at the point of referral families at risk of non attendance or who may find the clinical setting a challenging environment. This is discussed with the Education Advisor and alternative plans are put in place to support the child/young person. 4.1.5. Mapping of existing Tier 2 services and community resource The role of Education Advisor is to offer appropriate Third Sector signposting to schools and families. This has been achieved through collaborative working with a variety of Third Sector Partners including Aberlour Children’s Charity and Pachedu Charity who work with a diverse range of minority ethnic groups across a broad range of protected characteristics. Ongoing engagement with the ASN Development Group which incorporates a wide variety of Third Sector support ensures regular updates to schools and clinicians, improving the capacity support at the earlies point.
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Page 6 of 13 __________________________________________________________________ 5. Scope of the Role (Quantitative) 5.1. Across all data sets, the role has demonstrated its capacity to meet increasing demand. The data below demonstrates how this has increases since August 2023. __________________________________________________________________ 6. Impact of the Role The voice of all service users is paramount to the delivery and future development of this role. It was important to understand the impact the role has had on both the professional’s role and that of the children and young people supported by the professional. Both quantitative and qualitative feedback has been sought from all stakeholders. It should be noted that due to the sensitive nature of the support given to the children and young people, questionnaire methods of feedback were not appropriate. 6.1. Young person’s Perspective: ‘[clinician] asked me if I wanted to speak to [advisor] because some things were tough at school. I wasn’t sure, but it was okay. He asked me about the big things that were getting to me and I had to think about what would really help. I found this hard. I spoke to him twice and he spoke to school for me and I think that school get it a bit more now’- S3 Pupil
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Page 7 of 13 ‘[advisor] asked me if it would be ok to talk to [Pastoral Care Teacher] I wasn’t sure what to expect, nothing changes that much even when people promise things. [Pastoral Care Teacher] spoke to me about a week after and we had a bit of a plan. I don’t know how it will go, but I feel a bit better about the plan’- S4 Pupil 6.2. Parental Perspective: Cognisance was taken around the sensitivities of families requiring support. Through conversation, some families agreed to share their voice. The following is broadly representative of the majority of feedback with parents/carers. ‘As the parent of a child waiting for an Autism assessment, trying to navigate Education and Health is daunting. [Advisor’s] advice gave me perspective, and reassured me that I wasn’t ‘off my head’ when considering transitions and expectations of school support’ – Primary School Pupil Parent ‘I found it hard to understand what schools could do [to help the young person]…to make school understand where he [the young person] was coming from and the help he needed. The CAMHS Education person made it easy and spoke to the school for us…….things are much better now, at the moment.’ P6 Parent ‘Nobody gets how hard it is to support your child every day and people in schools and the NHS are good but don’t get to see it all. And my child is different in school as well. It was good to have a person to talk to the CAMHS people and school about her.’ - High School Parent 6.3. Education Perspective: 94% of respondents felt the role had either a high or medium impact on children and families. 3% felt it had low impact and 3% felt it was too early to tell. ‘We had a very hard to reach family. [Advisor’s] engagement with them and support helped the family understand the support school could offer and advised the family on strategies to help at home (that we replicate in school).’ ‘….I have seen progress in the length of waiting lists and there seems to be a more targeted approach to reducing these. This is impactful for families who are waiting for answers and perhaps medication to help support their child.’ ‘It is great to have a direct link with this service [CAMHS]. It has provided the school and parents with reassurance and support. We are grateful for this.’ 98% of respondents felt that the role was a useful support to their school or department. 2% felt they were unsure at the moment. ‘I have found this new position to be extremely helpful to me as HT [Head Teacher] but also to parents. Availability & reliability have been key….’ ‘[Advisor] was a good support to me as HT [Head Teacher] and was able to share his insight in to support for children, families and staff when dealing with challenging behaviour.’
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Page 8 of 13 ‘Having [advisor] to answer questions quickly is invaluable from a school perspective & being able to feedback to parents too is so handy. Knowing there is one contact who is easily accessible through email or phone is great.’ ‘Been an excellent link between school and health and smoothed a process which had become fractured over time.’ 6.4. CAMHS Perspective: 95% of clinicians felt that role had a, high impact on children and families, with 5% stating this to be of, medium impact. ‘Understanding presentation at school compared to home is extremely useful when considering if a referral is appropriate for CAMHS but in particular neuro. It has also supported consent of young people. Ahead of choice appointments, I then have more information and can ask more specific questions meaning that CYP are directed to the most appropriate services.’- Clinician ‘Extremely helpful to have input to hand. Has really improved links with schools and ability to redirect / ensure appropriate supports in place for new referrals as well as existing cases’- Clinician When asked if the Role of Education Advisor is a useful support to their discipline? 100% of clinicians stated, yes. ‘Quicker access to advice and consultation for individual children as well as help in linking CAMHS care planning in with the plans formulated in school.’ ‘The Education Advisor is a great asset to the team. Bringing useful insight into the school, client and CAMHS perspectives; and being able to work together in providing a more accurate care plan’ -CAMHS Clinician ‘Extremely helpful to have input to hand. Has really improved links with schools and ability to redirect / ensure appropriate supports in place for new referrals as well as existing cases’ – CAMHS Clinician __________________________________________________________________ 7. Neurodevelopmental (ND) Service 7.1. Due to the success and flexibility of the role, it has expanded beyond its original remit to support children and young people within the Renfrewshire Neurodevelopmental Pathway. Context 7.2. In October 2023 a new diagnostic pathway was set up to assess and diagnose neurodevelopmental conditions. Prior to this pathway, these assessments would have been carried out by CAMHS. The majority of the diagnoses from the ND Pathway are, Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 7.3. CAMHS and ND are now two distinct pathways with CAMHS addressing moderate to severe mental health difficulties.
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Page 9 of 13 7.4. The work carried out by the Education Advisor for the ND Pathway, replicates closely that of CAMHS, as outlined above. 7.5. In addition to this, the Advisor entered discussions around where ND assessment would be most beneficial from an education perspective. 7.6. Joint planning of a pilot project, the first of its kind in Scotland, looked at targeted assessment which included opportunities for education professionals to be involved in the assessment process. 7.7. The Pilot was carried out in one secondary and 2 primary schools and involved clinicians carrying out all assessments and parental meetings within the school. The pilot had 100% attendance rate, which has never been achieved in the clinical setting. Education professionals participated in the feedback/diagnosis meetings with parents/carers. The education advisor would then support schools and families with the outcomes of these meetings as appropriate. The support included but was not limited to: 1. Direct or signposted behavioural support for families 2. Direct advice to Senior Leadership Teams 3. Whole school staff training 4. Individual teacher support Outcomes 7.8. Parental/Young person’s Perspective 89% of respondents agreed that the location of the assessment and meetings (School) was excellent. 89% agreed that this was a highly collaborative process. 96% agreed that they felt listened to 85% would recommend this process to other service users 7.9. Education Perspective 100% of staff from the schools involved stated they found the process to be highly beneficial to the children and young people in their school. ‘The pilot has been extremely beneficial for all our families involved and positive feedback from all that took part. They now feel a weight has been lifted from them and they are able to fully understand their child and also how best to support them at home and at school. Class Teachers and supported adults have now made adaptations best suited to meet the needs of learners e.g. interventions, environments ,resources etc.- DHT Primary ‘The pilot has been life changing for some of our pupils and their families who had previously been faced with extremely long waiting lists from CAMHS. The practitioners were excellent and it was so beneficial being involved in the assessment process.’-DHT Secondary
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Page 10 of 13 82% of staff felt that the pilot was extremely beneficial in supporting them to meet the needs of the child/young person. 18% felt it was somewhat beneficial. ‘Staff felt that being part of the process and the feedback gave them greater insight into the barriers facing the child and how school and home could work together to overcome these. School staff also felt that it increased communication between home and school as they both received the information at the same time.’-Primary Head Teacher ‘The support and knowledge of the [ND] team was invaluable, and knowing that we have access to ongoing support and advice from the education advisor is a big help’-Primary Depute Head ‘We now have a clear idea of these pupils' neurodevelopmental needs which has allowed us to ensure appropriate supports are in place and that there is a greater understanding of each pupils' needs.’-Secondary Depute Head 7.10. ND Clinician Perspective 100% of clinicians who participated in the pilot stated they found the process to be highly beneficial to the children and young people being assessed. 100% of clinicians stated that partnership working with schools has significantly improved the assessment process. ‘Conducting assessments and feeding back diagnoses in a familiar location to families [school] makes the process significantly more relaxed and much less stressful for patients, also getting feedback two weeks after assessment cuts the waiting time for families’- ND Clinician ‘It was good to be assessing in school, as the dialogue between teachers and clinician was much more easily achieved than would be the case in clinic. With our colleagues in Education, I feel we have very much strengthened the assessment process- ND Clinician 7.11. Next steps in this partnership will involve supporting Neurodevelopmental practitioners achieve a deeper understanding of Renfrewshire’s Stage Intervention Process and explore how this can be developed within the referral process. ______________________________________________________________ 8. Barriers and Support Requirements 8.1. Due to the open and collaborative nature of the work undertaken, there have been few, if any barriers of note. 8.2. Data trends show increased need for this service year on year. Innovative solutions will be required to meet this demand going forward. ___________________________________________________________________
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Page 11 of 13 9. Conclusion 9.1. This evaluation report outlines Renfrewshire’s journey towards developing closer links with Health partners to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families, who are working within, or waitlisted for, Specialist Children’s Services Pathways. We have ensured that their voice is central throughout. 9.2. The findings suggest that overall, the authority is continuing to make excellent progress towards the outcomes stated at the initiation of the role of Education Advisor. We have evidenced how relationships across services have, and continue to grow, for the benefit of our children, young people, their families, educators and clinicians. This joined-up approach, coupled with the intentional flexibility of the Education Advisor role, will enable all those involved, to deliver tailored and timely support to families at the earliest juncture. This will ensure, collectively, we are getting it right for every child. 9.3. This report also indicates key areas that Renfrewshire shall continue working towards. These are: • Building ever closer relationships and working practices between Health and Education, by developing further, the positive impact of cross sector training. • Learning from the positive feedback from the targeted assessment Neurodevelopmental Assessment Pilot and rolling this out on a wider scale. • Explore the capacity for alignment of the Staged Intervention Process and the Neurodevelopmental referral process. • Continue to seek the voice of the children, young people and carers who use our services, ensuring they are represented fully in the work we do. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of this report 1. Financial – no financial implications 2. HR & Organisational Development – no implications 3. Community/Council Planning Our Renfrewshire is thriving - Ensuring the best support for all children and young people Our Renfrewshire is well - Early intervention will lead to healthier outcomes for children and young people, families and communities. Our Renfrewshire is safe - Local services/establishments will support children, young people and members of the community.
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Page 12 of 13 Building strong, safe and resilient communities - The quality of community life is enhanced by supporting children and young people. Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all - Effective governance arrangements ensure that the organisations can deliver effective and equitable support for children and young people Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy - Effective support arrangements will contribute to a quality education for children and young people 4. Legal – no implications 5. Property/Assets – no implications 6. Information Technology – no implications 7. Equality & Human Rights – The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – no implications 9. Procurement – no implications 10. Risk – no implications 11. Privacy Impact – no implications 12. Climate Risk – no implications 13. Children’s Rights – While not directly mentioned in the report reference is made to the UNCRC and the additional responsibilities it places on councils. 14. Cosla Policy Position – no implications List of Background Papers Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) The Promise Scotland United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Support for Learning: All our Children and all their Potential __________________________________________________________________
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Page 13 of 13 Children’s Services EH 7 August 2025 Author: Emma Henry, Head of Education emma.henry@renfrewshire.gov.uk