These resources, for both learners and educators, aim to improve the skills and confidence of colleagues from all professions to safely care for children and young people by enabling them to:

• recognise and care for children and young people (CYP) presenting with mental health needs, autism or learning disability
• safely plan and manage physical and mental health needs and escalate risk as appropriate
• communicate effectively with CYP, their families, and carers

The programme aim will be achieved through 4 key phases, supported by robust governance and assurance:

1. Understand

• Care standards and competency frameworks (for example, Royal College of Nursing/The Nursing and Midwifery Council, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health)
• In depth interviews and focus group:
  – semi structured interviews with CYP staff in acute care settings
  – 1 hour focus group with RCPCH advisory group
• Literature review and evidence synthesis:
  – review of literature and horizon scanning

2. Develop

• A programme map of the key domains, sub domains and categories that content should be mapped to
• Curation and co-creation of educational resources for learners, educators and systems onto this elearning for healthcare (elfh) microsite, for care in the emergency department, paediatric wards and other acute settings where children and young people are cared for
• Engagement and co-development of new materials with experts with lived experience
• Open access to elfh Hub

3. Deliver

• Dissemination of educational resources at a national level

4. Refine

• Implementation of a feedback mechanism, to enable continued refinement

This programme has been co-created with subject matter experts, those who are “experts with lived experience”, and a Clinical Education Reference Group of healthcare professionals from across the UK and the spectrum of clinical specialities and multiple organisations and agencies who specialise in these areas.

Every effort has been made to utilise content that is co-produced by those with lived experience. Where this was not possible, we have remained committed to illustrating the service user and carers’ voices, if available.

Careful consideration has been given to the use of inclusive language, CYP’s, and parent/carers’ preferred terminology, and the views of clinical experts in this area. However, this programme was developed rapidly by collating pre-existing materials and some resources may use language now  considered outdated. We are unable to alter content created externally, but have still chosen to include certain resources where they add value and enhance the resources available to users.

This downloadable glossary of terms (PDF, 301KB) shares with our users the rationale behind choices we have made relating to language, and we hope it will help you to better understand the nuances.

The Children and Young People with Mental Health Needs, Autism or Learning Disability programme houses free, open access resources.

In order to access the programme, you will need an elfh account. If you do not have one, then you can register by selecting the Register button below.

Register >

To view the Children and Young People with Mental Health Needs, Autism or Learning Disability programme, select the View button below. If you already have an account with elfh, you will also be able to login and enrol on the programme from the View button below.

View >

Registering large numbers of users

If you are a HR, IT or practice manager and would like to register and enrol large numbers of staff within your organisation for access onto the Children and Young People with Mental Health Needs, Autism or Learning Disability programme, please contact elfh directly.

More information

Please select the following link for more information on how to use the elfh Hub.

You can add this programme page on your phone by accessing your browser settings or share settings and selecting “Add to Home Screen”. Please note steps vary between devices. On an iPhone tap the “share” icon  and then “Add to home screen”.

1. NICE – national guidance
2. Mental Health Act – government document
3. Royal College of Psychiatrists – educational resources and guidance
4. MindEd – educational resources for healthcare professionals from Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh)
5. NSPCC – charity specialising in protecting children from abuse
6. Anna Freud Centre – resources for anyone supporting CYP with mental health needs
7. Child Outcomes Research Consortium – for CYP with learning disability, autism, or mental health needs
8. Disability Matters – useful resources and e-learning for disability

For Professionals and Children and Young People, and families or carers:

1. Healthy Teen Minds – Crisis Tools – relevant to anyone who may find themselves supporting a young person in crisis including parents, carers and professionals 
2. We Can Talk – free training for anyone working in acute hospitals who wants to improve the experience of children and young people in mental health crisis
3. Royal College of Psychiatrists – Medical emergencies in eating disorders (MEED): Guidance on recognition and management 
4. Young Minds – support for CYP with mental health needs and their families
5. Mind – support and advice for CYP with mental health needs
6. Beat eating disorders – eating disorders specific website
7. National Autistic Society – support for autistic CYP
8. Mencap – support for CYP with a learning disability
9. British Institute of Learning Disabilities – help for those supporting people with disabilities and complex needs

This domain offers resources to assist in understanding the law in relation to children and young people with mental health needs in acute settings, the implications for practice and clinical scenarios involving decision-making. The resources provide clear and practical information to help users navigate legal areas and are based on the most applicable CYP acute care legal frameworks as well as the voice of the service user to ensure equal perspectives of CYP care are considered.

The resources address topics relating to:

• Mental Health Act
• Mental Capacity Act
• Deprivation of Liberties
• Liberty Protection Safeguards

Take me to the resources.

Giving those with lived experience a voice helps us to better understand their unmet needs. This domain provides practical information on how to adapt communication and provide a wide range of reasonable adjustments to clinical practice and service delivery in order to provide an equal service.

The resources include opportunities to further understanding of:

• learning disability and autism
• the interface of mental and physical health in this patient group
• diagnostic overshadowing
• personalised support including communication tools, hospital passports and reasonable adjustments

Take me to the resources.

This domain offers a range of material to identify, understand, manage, and engage with mental health presentations in an acute setting. The breadth of the information available includes:

• quick guides to different mental health conditions
• lived experience from individuals with mental health needs
• signposting information for the young person/their carers allowing the clinician to provide first line, prevention and positive support
• practical support in considering some “grey” areas of mental health and complexities of patient journeys, including reducing restrictive practice and transitioning to adult services

Take me to the resources.

To ensure alignment to the young person and family/carer experience, “360” perspective of care and the service user “voice” should form a key component of delivery of care and outcome measures. This domain provides practical information to support the recognition and use of “lived experience” in co-production as well as signposting to clinical standardised measures to support greater understanding of assessment and treatment needs of the CYP population.

The resources are split into:

• routine outcome measures
• service co-production

Take me to the resources.

This domain offers generic safeguarding material allowing insight and practical advice into safeguarding recognition, types of safeguarding and the role and interaction the clinician has in this area. The aim is to improve confidence in recognition, reporting and management of a breadth of safeguarding considerations, unique to the CYP population.

Take me to the resources.

Meeting the needs of this patient population can have an impact on staff physically, mentally and emotionally. This domain highlights and reinforces areas of support for resilience, self-care, supervision, and reflection, in the hope the programme can offer access to material that validates and understands these experiences.

Take me to the resources.

You can add the searchable index web app to your phone home screen by opening it on your phone, accessing browser settings/share settings and selecting “Add to Home Screen”. Please note: steps vary between devices and browsers. On an iPhone tap the “share” icon  and then “Add to home screen”.

The Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL) at University College London conducted this learning needs analysis, horizon scoping and literature review which provided key context for the development of this programme.

Please email Learningnetwork@nhselect.org.uk if you have any educational resources to share (related to the existing topics list or others), so we can continue to build this site. Author recognition will be given.

We are keen to improve, so let us know any feedback you have about this site or resources by completing this short evaluation survey or email (Learningnetwork@nhselect.org.uk)

NHS England and Health Education England have worked in partnership to develop this approach which has already been extensively tested with stakeholders.

Please contact us for any further information or questions about the programme (Learningnetwork@nhselect.org.uk)

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• Kathy Brennan, Governance and Implementation Lead
• Libby Thomas, Education Lead
• Ella Nuttall, National Skills Passport Strategy and Implementation Lead
• Kulwant Sindhar, PMO Lead
• Nicky Windle, Multiprofessional Content Curation and Design
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• Janet Arris, Multiprofessional Content Curation and Design
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• Jennifer Yeboah, PMO Support Officer
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