The training we offer is aimed primarily at those practitioners working directly with children and young people in Cambridgeshire for whom CAMH is not the principal responsibility in their role (ie, they will not usually be working in a specialist CAMH role).

An emphasis of the reforms relating to children, young people and families over recent years has been a move away from dealing with consequences of problems towards an emphasis on prevention and early intervention (2004 Department for Education and Skills and Department of Health). In addition there has been a focus on all practitioners who work with children, young people and families recognising both the contribution they can make, and their responsibilities in promoting the emotional wellbeing and meeting the mental health needs of children and young people – that it is ‘everybody’s business’ (1995 NHS Health Advisory Service, 2004 Department of Education & Skills and Department of Health). The final report of the National CAMHS Review (2008, Department of Health) further highlighted the importance of sufficient training and support for the wider children’s workforce in meeting this requirement. 

This overarching principle, that mental health is indeed ‘everybody’s business’, continues to be a strong theme in the recently published cross-government mental health outcomes strategy ‘No Health Without Mental health’ (2011)

CAMH training programme