"Enabling potential and celebrating success; together we can help children learn"
What are SEMH Needs?
SEMH stands for Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Mental health can change and fluctuate depending on circumstances and experiences. The World Health Organisation describes emotional and mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to her or his community’. The SEN Code of Practice 2015 also adds the word ‘social’ to this definition, to include that sometimes feelings and behaviours in children are linked to their ‘social’ life: what’s going on in their family, with their friends, and in the community they live in.
When we talk about children having ‘social, emotional and mental health needs’, we usually mean children who:
- do not recognise and manage their feelings which can lead to behavioural responses that others find challenging
- are dysregulated by triggers such as sensory overwhelm, social anxiety, demand anxiety or adverse childhood experiences
- may not have positive connections with trusted adults or their peers
- have difficulties with self-control and regulation
- are not as resilient as their peers when faced with challenge
- have poor confidence/self-awareness
If your child is attending a setting that is finding it difficult to meet your child’s needs, and/or perhaps only offering reduced access to your child’s funded hours, then you can ask them to consider a referral to the EYSEN SEMH Outreach Service as part of their graduated response to your child’s needs.
If your child’s setting thinks that this intervention work would be supportive, they will ask for your permission for the Outreach Service to work with your child. The Outreach Service practitioner will engage you throughout the process via home visits, regular records and reports, and invitations to planning and review meetings.
What is the SEMH Outreach Service?
SEMH Outreach practitioners support children in non-maintained and maintained early years settings in Derbyshire.
The package of support offered by the Outreach practitioner may look different depending on the needs of the child and the requirements of the setting.
Who are the EYSEN SEMH Outreach Service?
EYSEN SEMH Outreach practitioners are dual experts in both early years’ special educational needs and SEMH needs coming from a range of backgrounds including education and social care.
How does SEMH Outreach Service support work?
The EYSEN SEMH Outreach Service offers support at a specialist level of the graduated response. The aim of the SEMH Outreach team is to improve inclusion and access for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs that present as a barrier. The outreach practitioner will use a combination of reflective practice and ecosystemic exploration to support the unpicking of what is happening and why. The support will involve assessment of both the child’s needs and provision currently offered and focus upon supporting practitioners to meet SEMH needs through advice, modelling and training.
Settings will be required to engage in a whole setting approach to accessing training following advice and implementing strategies. Capacity to commit time to these requirements is a pre-requisite to service delivery. This is not a traded service, and no charges will be made for training offered as part of the SEMH Outreach Team's work.
Following the support over a period of up to 10 weeks, the final review meeting with parents will make decisions about the ongoing support needed for the child. This may involve:
- continuation of targeted support in setting with Early Years Inclusion Funding (EYIF)
- referrals for ongoing specialist support from teams such as EYSEN specialist teachers or educational psychology service.
- request for a statutory EHC Needs Assessment
What our settings say
"It has been an absolute pleasure working with an EYSEN Outreach practitioner as part of the EYSEN Outreach support. From the very beginning, she brought not only her deep expertise and professionalism but also genuine warmth and dedication that had a profound and positive impact on our setting. Her support has been transformative. Clear, insightful assessments of both children’s needs and our current provision helped us understand the barriers to inclusion more clearly. More importantly, she empowered our team by upskilling staff with practical, evidence-based strategies that were tailored, effective, and easy to implement. Their support has left a lasting legacy at our setting, not only in terms of systems and practice, but in the mindset and ethos she helped us strengthen."
What our parents say
"Thank you so much for all of your help and support. We really have been overwhelmed with how well you have gotten to know our son, see him and understand him. Not only have you shown him so much care and consideration, you really do know him so well which I appreciate isn’t easy, you connected with him and established a relationship with him and just get him! So, thank you, it means a lot to us, and I know you have been part of the improvement/changes we have seen in him, and it means we can fully trust in the recommendations and support you’ve put in place. We have so much hope for his future now."
"Thank you so much for everything you have done. You have been incredible and we are lucky to have been supported by you. Thank you for listening, guiding and advising us. I feel like everyone has really benefited from you and have embraced your suggestions and knowledge."
"Just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your help and support."
"Also… WE MADE IT THROUGH THE TERM WITHOUT GETTING SUSPENDED!!! Once again, thank you so so much!!"
How to request support from the EYSEN SEMH Outreach Service
SEMH Outreach Service criteria are that a child:
- has significant or complex SEMH needs which impact their ability to access inclusive provision on offer and/or leads to a reduced timetable/being at risk of exclusion.
- attends a Derbyshire EY setting (PVI or maintained).
- has had a graduated response of assess, plan, do, review at targeted level within their setting.
To refer a child to the EYSEN SEMH Outreach Service, please complete the 'Referral for Early Years SEN Outreach Team form' found in the 'related documents' section of this page.
To discuss further, please contact the Senior SEMH Outreach practitioner or the EYSEN Lead Officer via Email: cs.eysenservice@derbyshire.gov.uk.