Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (SEMH)

Question 1

4 Areas of Children’s SEN That Need Support (DfE Code of Practice, 2015)

Answer 1

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Sensory and/or physical needs

Question 2

SEMH Needs Manifest Themselves in Many Ways Including…

Answer 2

• Challenging and disruptive behaviour
• Withdrawal or isolation
• Lack of concentration
• Hyperactivity

May reflect underlying MH issues e.g. ADHD, anxiety

Question 3

Prevalence of Mental Health and Behavioural Problems in Schools

Answer 3

• 10-20% of 5-15 year olds have a mental health disorder

- Boys are more likely to be diagnosed (except anxiety and depressive disorders in girls)

Question 4

Social Competence/Skills

Answer 4

Social competence: possessing the emotional and intellectual skills and behaviours needed to succeed as a member of society

-Social competence increases peer acceptance which is linked positively to school achievement and negatively to problems with behaviour and adjustment

Question 5

Emotional Competence/Skills

Answer 5

Emotional competence: functional capacity wherein a human can reach their goal after an emotion eliciting encounter

• regulates negative emotions e.g. anxiety in learning
• helps with better relationships with peers and increases group acceptance

Question 6

Experiences of Those With MH Disorders (Gould, Greenberg, Velting and Shaffer, 2003):

Answer 6

• difficulty maintaining social relationships
• less academic and vocational success
• greater risk for substance abuse
• greater risk of early mortality including suicide

Translates to broader social problems e.g. rates of mental health disorders in incarcerated youths 70%

Question 7

Theoretical Approaches to Behavioural Difficulties: Behavioural Approach

Answer 7

• behaviour learnt through what happens in the environment
• undesirable behaviour develops because it’s associated with positive outcomes (reinforcement) and avoiding negative outcomes (punishment)

Question 8

Theoretical Approaches to Behavioural Difficulties: Cognitive Approach

Answer 8

• focuses on cognitive processes: how events are perceived and how problems are planned and solved
• changes the way children think about themselves and the world to change behaviour

Question 9

Theoretical Approaches to Behavioural Difficulties: Psychodynamic Approach

Answer 9

• based on the assumption that the drives, wishes etc that determine our behaviour are unconscious
• focuses on resolving internal conflict to tackle underlying problems e.g. Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1958) - provide secure base for children with disorganised attachment style

Question 10

Theoretical Approaches to Behavioural Difficulties: Systematic Approach

Answer 10

• holistic investigation to build a picture of behaviour, knowledge, feeling and attitudes of everyone involved in the situation (e.g. student, teacher, parent)

Question 11

Theoretical Approaches to Behavioural Difficulties: Biological Level Influences

Answer 11

• outside the scope of teachers and educational psychologists
• collab with medical staff is necessary
• medical rather than psychological interventions

Question 12

Assessing Behavioural Difficulties: Behaviourally-Based Methods

Answer 12

• uses systematic observation: frequency and duration of behaviour
• good for evaluating the success of an intervention BUT children may behave differently when observed

Question 13

Assessing Behavioural Difficulties: Cognitively- Based Methods

Answer 13

• uses questionnaires to assess cognitive constructs: self-perception, attribution and personal constructs
• weakness: children tend to pick most socially desirable answer
• strength: gives the capacity for self-analysis

Question 14

Assessing Behavioural Difficulties: Psychodynamically-Based Methods

Answer 14

• uses individual interviews or play sessions

- projective technique based on assumption that when we react to something it is a reflection of our inner world

Question 15

Assessing Behavioural Difficulties: Systemically-Based Methods

Answer 15

• uses behavioural or cognitive assessment strategies to collect info about a problem at different levels
  1. organisational level: perception of school rules and sanctions
  2. individual level: views of students behaviour e.g. ask parents, teachers etc
  3. social level: importance of peer groups social system in supporting or undermining behaviour

Question 16

Interventions for SEMH: Behavioural Interventions

Answer 16

• most commonly used - over 50% of the time
• increases desirable behaviour through reward
• decreases undesirable behaviour through punishment
• group interventions seem effective e.g. the good behaviour game in classrooms

Question 17

Interventions for SEMH: Cognitive Interventions

Answer 17

• aims to challenge faulty beliefs and learn more adaptive ways for perceiving the world and their response to it e.g. anxiety management - recognising pounding heart and what strategies to calm self
• Sukhodolsky et al (2005): found cognitive and behavioural interventions for anger management to be equally as effective

Question 18

Interventions for SEMH: Psychodynamic Interventions

Answer 18

• aim to bring unconscious defences and fantasies to a child’s conscious awareness e.g. nurture groups in classrooms allow pupils to build trusting relationships in a predictable environment, the pupil then gains skills to learn in larger classes
• Reynolds (2009): found nurture groups to improve academic abilities and emotional functioning

Question 19

Interventions for SEMH: Systematic Interventions

Answer 19

• interventions at different levels; individual, class, school and society
• used for bullying behaviour that leads to behavioural, emotional and academic difficulties (Swearer et al, 2010)
• Ttofi & Farrington (2011) review of anti-bullying program found:
• school based programs are effective
• bullying decreased 20-23%
• victimisation decreased 17-20%