Parental Mental Ill-health: Safeguarding Children and Young People

Sometimes people can face difficulties with their thoughts, feelings or behaviour and this can make everyday life and relationships harder to manage. This is often described as mental ill health. It can affect anyone, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity or background. Mental ill health problems range from depression, anxiety, stress and phobias to rarer problems such as postpartum psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Our mental health can be shaped by many things, including our biology and the circumstances we are born into, grow up in, live with and experience during our lifetimes. People who face greater disadvantages in life may also face greater risks to their mental health. The Mental Health Foundation point out that when these risks are not shared equally across society, then this is mental health inequality.

There also remains much stigma attached to mental health problems which often remain hidden, and many people do not receive the support they need.

For some children, the presence of parental mental ill-health may have little or no impact on the day-to-day parenting that they receive, with the child or young person remaining safe and feeling loved and valued. For others, the impact may be more significant, meaning that the child or young person requires help and support to understand what is happening and reduce the impact on their own health and development.

Just like physical health conditions, several things can impact our mental health, and these can be because of specific events or can build up over time. As humans, we all have good and bad days, and you will know how an unexpected event can impact how you feel for the rest of the day or longer. Stress and duress can also have an impact on how we feel and how we relate to the world around us.

As noted above, factors which can impact mental health include relationship issues, financial worries, employment worries, housing issues, discrimination, victimisation and abuse. Mental ill-health can also be made worse by substance misuse and domestic abuse. For some people, events that happened earlier in their lives can be the cause of current mental health difficulties, for example, abuse that they experienced as a child or young person.

When working with parents and carers, practitioners should prioritise a child-centred approach, fostering partnerships to ensure understanding, support and safety.

Remember:

Collaborative efforts are crucial, especially in cases of suspected harm.

Practitioners must engage effectively with diverse families, demonstrating empathy, respect and cultural awareness.

Communication should be clear, inclusive and accessible. Encouraging parental/carer involvement in decision-making and valuing their input is essential.

Involving families and communities in designing processes fosters a holistic approach to safeguarding children.

Continuous reflection and adaptation based on feedback from parents and carers enhances practice effectiveness.

Have you considered if:

• the setting has inclusive ways for students and families to speak about homelife, so that experiencing mental ill-health feels less stigmatised for all?

• the signposting and information regarding health, income and housing support is accessible to all families, with consideration given to language, literacy, learning needs?

• the setting always offers practical assistance to families impacted by parental mental ill-health where possible? This might be things like donated items to support hygiene and nutrition, clothing, toys or space and time on site for students to complete their homework.