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Report Objectives

Explore the relationship between poverty and mental health, particularly maternal mental health;

Consider the dual impact of poverty and maternal mental health on children and young people’s educational experience;

Identify existing universal and targeted provisions for affected children and young people in Ireland and Northern Ireland;

Identify exemplars of interventions, nationally and internationally, that support access to and enjoyment of education for affected children and young people;

Make recommendations for policy development and implementation.

Report Overview

Mental Health.

Parental Mental Health.

Maternal Mental Health.

Poverty and Mental Health.

Education, Disadvantage and Mental Health.

Supporting Education.

Parental Mental Health

Prevalence.

No systematic data collection.

Impact on children:

i. General well-being.

ii. Caring role.

Maternal Mental Health

Women more likely to experience mental health problems.

i. Various manifestations, e.g. low self esteem.

ii. Impact on children.

Poverty and Mental Health

Relationship – low income, social disadvantage and low social support.

Mothers/women affected.

Impact on educational attainment.

• Social/emotional/behavioural impact.

Collaborative approach.

Education, Disadvantage and Mental Health

Correlation between parental

involvement, academic attainment and socio-

emotional development.

Supporting Education

Education/school – important role.

Universal - Community based interventions.

Targeted – School based interventions.

Evidence based.

Community Based Interventions

Strength of family, whole family, early intervention, greater parental involvement in education.

i. Sure Start

ii. Family Support hubs

iii. Springboard

School Based Interventions

Counselling, support, promoting positive mental health, support in schools.

i. Extended Schools.

ii. Big Brother Big Sister.

Evidence Based Programmes

Supporting the adult, promoting mental health, whole family, strengthening resilience.

i. FAME (Canada)

ii. Family SMILES (Australia and UK)

Key Messages

There is a need for better prevalence data on the number of children who have a parent with a mental health problem.

To better understand the relationship between maternal mental health, poverty and children’s educational outcomes there is a need for further child-centred research.

Joint protocols between health and education can improve educational outcomes for children and young

people.

Key Messages

Staff training and appropriate educational interventions within schools are crucial to enable children to enjoy access to a full educational experience.

Targeted interventions for families experiencing mental health problems should be slotted into existing parental programmes.

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