Empowering the supporters: enhancing the role of unqualified support workers in a housing scheme for people with mental health problems

The research reported in this study is a practitioner action research study that is primarily concerned with the activities of unqualified support workers in an accommodation scheme for people who have experienced enduring mental health problems. A central focus became the relationship between the support workers and professional staff within the wider mental health service. Parallel with a ‘practice gap’ identified in their relationship with professional staff was a ‘supervision gap’ in terms of their relationship with myself as their manager. One means of exploring this relationship was the use of ‘critical scenarios’. A series of ‘connections’ or practice support linkages were put in place that aimed to bridge this gap and at the same time enhance the role of the support workers.     

Count us in: the role of schools and colleges in meeting the mental health needs of young people with learning disabilities

In December 2002, the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities' Committee of Inquiry into the mental health needs of young people with learning disabilities produced its report.
Barry Carpenter, Chief Executive at Sunfield and Chair of the committee, and Hazel Morgan, head of the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, take this opportunity to share some insights into the workings of the committee and summarise the key findings. The committee drew evidence from a range of sources, but placed the voices and experiences of young people with learning disabilities at the centre of their proceedings. The committee's findings and recommendations were wide ranging and will have far-reaching implications, but there are immediate messages that schools and colleges should hear. It is upon these messages, taking account of pastoral provision, the curriculum, transition and inter-agency work, that Barry Carpenter and Hazel Morgan focus in this article.     

Supporting pupils in school with social,emotional and mental health needs: a scoping review of the literature

This article reports on a scoping review of the academic and related literature published between 2000 and 2015 that addressed the education provision for secondary aged pupils with social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties (SEMH) conducted over a six week period in 2015. A total of 168 documents met the inclusion criteria for the review, including 110 peer reviewed journal articles. The authors found an emerging evidence base to support more effective provision for pupils with SEMH, but there remains, particularly at the group and individual level a dearth of literature. Underpinning all the successful programmes in this review was a positive approach adopted by teachers and school leaders to pupils with SEMH. There was an overlap in practice between approaches used at universal, group and individual level but the majority of effective approaches were common to mainstream and specialist settings.     

University staff mental health literacy,stigma and their experience of students with mental health problems

Despite high rates of mental disorders in university students, very few seek professional help. University teaching staff are well placed to connect students with mental health care. However, little is known about university staff attitudes to and knowledge about mental health problems, or whether these factors influence their experience with and assistance of students with these problems. A total of 224 teaching staff members at the Australian National University, Canberra completed an anonymous online survey via an email link (16.4% response rate from N ~ 1370). Measures included demographic and professional information, experiences with student mental health, knowledge of depression (literacy) and attitudes to depression (stigma). Strength of stigmatising attitude did not predict whether a teaching staff member would approach a student to assist with mental health problems. Teaching staff with higher levels of depression literacy (OR = 1.14, p = 0.007) were more likely to feel sufficiently informed to help students with mental health problems. Ensuring staff complete mental health literacy training and have adequate skills to respond appropriately to students with mental health problems may help in connecting young people to appropriate care in a university context.     

Transition partnerships: the views of education professionals and staff in support services for young people with learning disabilities

Transition to post-statutory education and employment for young people with learning disabilities has become a hotly debated issue among professionals in education and support services in the UK. Partnerships between educational institutions and voluntary sector providers are supposed to be ideal vehicles for delivering transition services and securing outcomes for young people with learning disabilities. In this article, Axel Kaehne and Stephen Bayer of the Welsh Centre for Learning Difficulties report the findings of a survey of the views of special educational needs co-ordinators and professionals who are involved at operational and strategic levels in the work of transition partnerships. The data show that undue emphasis is often placed, by all stakeholders, on the soft, rather than the concrete, outcomes of transition; that smooth transitions are still hampered by insufficient flow of information between collaborating agencies; and that there are still significant gaps in provision, in particular in the supported employment field, due to funding or referral restrictions. To deliver first-class transitions, argue Axel Kaehne and Stephen Bayer, partnerships that support young people with learning disabilities need to address these difficulties with some urgency.     

Educating the educators: developing those who support learning for students with additional learning needs

This article reports findings from a research project which developed and introduced the Enhanced Learning Support Assistant Programme (ELSAP) as a source of professional development for learning support assistants who were supporting students with additional learning needs in a college of further education in England. The purpose of this article is to share findings from the project and to highlight the benefits experienced when learning support assistants can participate in professional development activity. The research project was a mixed methods study with participants drawn from learning support assistants within one college of further education in England. Data were collected throughout the 14‐week intervention. Findings indicate that the programme had a positive effect on participants' confidence, sense of professional identify and of being valued, as well as improving their ability to perform their role.     

Actual and ideal roles of school staff to support students with special needs: current needs and strategies for improvement

To optimise school-based service delivery for students with disabilities, it is important to understand roles and needs of school staff. This study aimed to clarify ideal and actual roles of school staff (teachers, special educators, administrators) working with students with special needs, and to identify potential strategies to support actual roles. Ninety-five school personnel (64% teachers) from 3 different elementary schools and school boards in Quebec completed a 14-question survey. Open-ended responses were coded and analysed thematically. Common actual roles included task adaptation, offering individualized support, being available and teamwork. Respondents felt roles could improve through in-context professional support, continuing education, teamwork opportunities extending to partnerships with families and access to resources. Clarifying roles and expectations within a tiered-model to best support students also emerged, emphasizing the importance of sharing responsibilities across all service providers. Findings can guide implementation strategies and processes for providing effective services, enabling inclusion for students.     

Meeting health,mental health,and housing needs of older adults: A case review of the congregational social work education initiative

This article presents results from an innovative social work field education program, which prepares BSW and MSW students to work in interdisciplinary teams with congregational nurses as they serve persons age 55+ or older. The Congregational Social Work Education Initiative is a field education project based on an applied interdisciplinary model, whereby social work students at the graduate and undergraduate level partner with congregational nurses to serve at-risk members of congregations and religious affiliated organizations (RAOs). Students and nurses provide free health, mental health, and wellness services to address individual, family, group, and community health, mental health, and housing issues. Funded by community health foundations, it trains BSW and MSW students for professional practice in congregational and community religious affiliated settings through interdisciplinary and collaborative methods. Information on the development of the model and case illustrations are provided so other social work educational programs and congregational nurse programs might duplicate its success.     

Supporting computer-mediated learning: A case study in online staff development and classroom learning environment assessment

The rapid growth of online learning has led to the development of staff inservice evaluation models that are geared towards improving degree programs. Based on best practices in student online assessment, the Online Faculty Development and Classroom Learning Environment Assessment course was designed to serve the dual purpose of staff development and classroom learning environment assessment. Results of analyses showed that the course maximised the potential of online staff development for encouraging staff to reflect on Curriculum and Teaching Capacities (CTC). Implications are discussed in terms of emphasising the process of online CTC learning and incorporating perspectives to capture a comprehensive view of staff teaching attitudes and their association with student perceptions of the classroom learning environment.     

Good intentions: teaching and specialist support staff perspectives of student disclosure of mental health issues in post-secondary education

This article reports findings from a qualitative case study, as part of which staff perspectives of student disclosure of mental health issues in an Australian post-secondary vocational education setting were explored. Twenty teaching and specialist support staff from four vocational education and training institutions participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Institutional policies and practices related to the management of disability at each site provided contextual information relevant to the staff experience. All data were analysed thematically. Staff participants strongly supported student disclosure of mental health issues. Staff linked the likelihood of course success for students experiencing mental illness with disclosure and the implementation of educational supports. Findings draw attention to subtle differences in constructions of student disclosure reported by the specialist support staff and the teachers: differences in perspective which were consistent across locations. This study highlights the influence of personal experience of mental illness and institutional processes for educational adjustment on staff perspectives of student disclosure. Implications of the current practices in post-secondary education student support services are discussed. Further research on disclosure beliefs among teachers and specialist support staff, in a wider range of educational settings, would allow for a deeper exploration of issues raised by this study.     

Career counsellors, support and lifelong learning: A case for clinical supervision

While much has been written about clinical supervisionin other fields of counselling, little has beenwritten in the area of career counselling. However ascareer counsellors are confronted with the challengesof a constantly changing world of work, their supportand learning needs are increasing. This articlediscusses the role of clinical supervision as amechanism for facilitating the support and lifelonglearning of career counsellors moving into thelearning culture of the 21st Century.     

Connecting with connexions: the role of the personal adviser with young people with special educational and support needs

The Connexions service has particular responsibility for coordinating transition planning for students with learning difficulties. In this study Bob Grove and Alison Giraud–Saunders report on the development of the personal adviser (PA) role in two special schools and an FE college as part of the Lewisham Connexions pilot. This article is based on the evaluation report of the Connecting with Connexions project, which is available in full from the authors.     

Cognitive support embedded in self-regulated e-learning systems for students with special learning needs

This paper presents an anthropocentric approach in human – machine interaction in the area of self-regulated e-learning. In an attempt to enhance communication mediated through computers for pedagogical use we propose the incorporation of an intelligent emotional agent that is represented by a synthetic character with multimedia capabilities, modelled to imitate human behaviour. The agent is aiming to provide cognitive support to users with learning difficulties and attention disorders and is designed to accommodate self regulated learning elements. We review the basic principles of self regulated learning which, in turn, act as a basis for designing and implementing our system. Kolb’s learning cycle is used to provide a framework upon which agents’ pedagogical behaviour is constructed. A study between 24 students from higher education with learning difficulties and attention disorders is presented. The learning particularities of this special group that contradict with the principles of self regulated learning are reported. The study refers to students in higher education, in the domain of information technology. The analysis of results indicates that emotional agents improve communication between users of the particular learning group and learning environments by providing cognitive support through behavioural communication, compared to agents with neutral behaviour.     

An exploration of teacher's use of iPads for students with learning support needs

This project explored how iPads were being used in a range of K‐12 schools to support the learning of students with a range of learning support needs. Groups of teachers (and other professionals) from the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK were invited to complete an online survey focused on the use of iPads in their classrooms, perspectives of their skill level, and how their school and school districts support the use of iPads. The survey focused on iPad use in classrooms (curriculum and skills); teachers’ skill levels; whether iPads are addressed in the Individualised Education Program (IEP); the systemic support for the iPads; and the perceived benefits and barriers. The results reveal that respondents are using iPads across many areas of the curriculum, which affirms the research in the emerging literature base. However, there are teacher reported differences in the manner and scope of iPad use in the classrooms and also the integration of the iPad in the IEP. The research also highlights variability in reported skill level for the iPad and an increased need for enhanced systemic support, such as training, funding, technical support and administrative support for the use of the iPad as a pedagogical tool.     

Attitudes of students towards people with mental ill health and impact on learning and well‐being

This study, which was conducted within a college of further education in London, explored students' attitudes towards people with mental ill health, and examined whether these impact on the learning and well‐being of students with mental illness. The study was carried out in response to complaints about negativity about mental illness within the college. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were employed, which consisted of semantic differential surveys and semi‐structured interviews. Analysis of the results of the latter revealed the presence of stereotypes and prejudice, which had the potential to impact negatively upon learners with mental disorders. The article makes a number of recommendations for future teaching practice, which includes a need to raise awareness of mental health issues, and challenge stereotypes and negative attitudes relating to mental illness, within the classroom.