Gloucestershire CCG is working to develop joint agency workforce plans with stakeholders to increase both the capacity and capability of the workforce in Gloucestershire to meet the mental and emotional health needs of children and young people.
A local workforce plan will aim to identify the additional capacity and skills of the workforce required to deliver Gloucestershire’s Future In Mind five year transformation plan to improve children and young people’s mental health. This will contribute towards the national commitment of at least 70,000 additional Children and Young People supported by mental health services nationally by 2020.
To support the delivery of evidence based interventions, the CCG is offering local organisations access to a number of training opportunities which are provided through a regional education collaborative in partnership with Reading University and the Charlie Waller Institute
The opportunity to take up courses through the regional educational collaborative will be available until 2018/19. The courses will allow staff across statutory and voluntary organisations working with young people to used evidence based techniques and routine outcomes monitoring. This includes career development opportunities for Allied Health Professionals, Teachers, Health Visitors, Children’s Centres, VCS, Youth workers, School Nurses and Sports Coaches who have regular contact with Children and Young People.
The courses are fully funded and there is also additional salary support for organisations to allow for the release of staff.
Initial discussions for this approach have been supported by local stakeholders at the Children Emotional Health and Well-Being Partnership Board on the meeting on the 29th of September 2016.
To support staff who have completed courses there is a need in the county to develop the supervision capacity within the children and young people’s workforce. The CCG is interested in working with lead organisations to strengthen supervision capacity where there are already qualified and experienced counsellors who would like to develop into supervisors.
A brief overview of the courses on offer until 2018/19 through the regional collaborative at the Charlie Waller Institute is provided here – Further information can be found at the collaborative website https://www.reading.ac.uk/charliewaller/
Application submissions for the 2017 cohort of CYP IAPT Enhanced Evidence Based Practice course must be made by Wednesday the 4th of January 2017. Course delivery dates for the academic year 2017/18 are to be confirmed. Please read the entry requirements for clinical courses here.
To express an interest in the courses that are on offer or to discuss any ideas on Gloucestershire workforce development for Children and Young People’s Mental Health please contact Zaheera Nanabawa, Senior Commissioning Manager via email at Zaheera.nanabawa@nhs.net or call 0300 421 1441.