Schools and pre-schools should play bigger role in child wellbeing.

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A public health paper published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has suggested that teachers and early years professionals should be fully trained to spot the signs of emotional distress in children so that schools and early years settings can provide support to those experiencing problems.

The paper has been published using existing NICE research, which focuses on children under five years old and children in primary and secondary education.

The paper outlines a number of recommendations, including that settings use "targeted approaches" for children who do show signs of distress. They suggest that this could be achieved by ensuring staff are fully trained to identify such problems and they know how to act and seek specialist support if required.

An effective recommendation in the paper includes how all teachers and early years professionals should identity factors that may pose a risk to a child's social and emotional wellbeing. This includes parents' capacity to provide a loving and nurturing environment for their children. Settings must also ensure procedures are in place for staff to make referrals to specialist services.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the Centre for Public Health at NICE, argues that supporting the emotional and social wellbeing of children and young people is important for society as a whole. He says the paper "aims to support local authorities create a safe environment […] which is emotionally secure and which prevents behavioural problems. This will provide the best opportunity for children to reach their full potential both academically and personally."

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NICE gives best practice advice for local authorities on improving the wellbeing of children and young people across a range of children's services. Read more about NICE and their recent paper here.

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