“Joined on rather than joined up?” Primary mental health work in Scottish schools

Abstract

PurposePrimary mental health workers have been based in West Lothian schools since 2003 to act as links between the community and hospital‐based services. The research programme this paper describes aimed to examine how this model worked and its impact for children and their families.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports on interviews with secondary school staff, the link workers and comparative post‐holders. The research study was qualitative and the research question was “What is the perceived impact of Mental Health Link Workers in West Lothian schools?”.FindingsThe paper finds that Primary mental health workers felt that their main contribution was building capacity in the community to support children with mental health problems, and identified four strands to this: space, relationships, skills and containment. Two described direct access for children and their families as the main gain. Secondary school staff considered that the greatest impact was for children at the onset of mental illness, and their own knowledge and skills.Practical implicationsPrimary mental health work in the community is fairly new in Scotland. This study suggested that it speeded up and improved access to services for children in need of mental health assessments and services. It was based on temporary contracts and short‐term funding. Sustainability within schools may only take place when the work becomes well resourced.Originality/valueThe paper is a detailed look at the views of Primary Mental Health Workers based in schools and school staff.