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This paper reports on the findings from a qualitative study involving 67 children, in or having left care. The research formed part of a project commissioned by Welsh Government which was concerned with educational experiences in Wales, UK. Visual and creative techniques were used to support children's and young people's participation in semi-structured interviews and focus groups and care experienced peer researchers took an active role in the fieldwork. The study identified some of the unintended conflicts, consequences, and challenges of well-meaning practice interventions, and highlighted the importance of working with and listening to the experiences of children and young people in care. It also emphasised the salience of children's and young people's relational well-being, something rarely considered in an educational context, and argued that the relational aspects of negotiating the care experience merit further attention. Participants' experiences suggest that there is still much to do in dismantling the structural barriers and the impact of being labelled as «looked after», but that by engaging with and listening to the accounts of young people we can move towards developing more informed and effective strategies that can improve both policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young adults with a history of out-of-home care report poorer mental health and life satisfaction compared to non-care-experienced peers. Social support is a known protective factor for mental health. There is limited evidence, however, on the relationship between sources (e.g., family members) and types (e.g., information) of social support and mental health symptoms and life satisfaction in this population. Reporting cross-sectional survey data from 215 young adults aged 18–22 years with a history of out-of-home care, the current study conducted descriptive, bivariate, and linear regression analysis to examine the different sources and types of support young adults receive and their relation to mental health symptoms and life satisfaction. Participants had high levels of support from family members, friends, and other adults. Most participants had informational support, but less than half had consistent material support. Regression analyses demonstrated that having enough informational and material support were associated with fewer mental health symptoms. Having family support and material support were associated with greater life satisfaction. Further longitudinal research is needed to understand the trajectory between social supports and mental health functioning and life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced young people is poorer compared to the general population. • t There is limited understanding of the experience of receiving, facilitating or delivering online or remote mental health provision during COVID-19. • There is a lack of awareness of what online mental health provision is available for care-experienced young people,. • Carers and professionals need training on how to foster positive relationships with young people online , and how to manage child protection. • Young people need to have safe and private spaces when accessing online services, in addition to appropriate and functioning technological devices. The COVID-19 pandemic, and associated lockdowns, saw numerous services move to online and remote delivery. This included mental health and wellbeing interventions for care-experienced young people. To date there has been limited consideration of how different stakeholders experienced the receipt or delivery of remote provision during this period. We conducted online one-to-one and small group interviews with: young people with experience of care (n = 3); a young person whose biological parents were foster carers (n = 1); foster and kinship carers (n = 10); and social care and affiliated professionals (n = 9). We further engaged with relevant stakeholder consultation groups to refine and confirm study findings. Five central themes were generated, that reflected participants' experience of a range of services, while also serving as recommendations for the future development and optimisation of provision: 1) Awareness: there is a lack of general awareness of mental health provision and understanding of what is available to support care-experienced young people, and a specific lack of knowledge regarding online support; 2) Choice and tailoring: young people need choice and flexibility in identifying provision that best suits their needs, and this includes the decision to receive online, blended or in-person services; 3) Training: carers and professionals need training on how to foster relationships with young people online and how to ensure safety and child protection; 4) Safety, protection and risk: young people need to have safe and private spaces when accessing online services; and 5) Access and resources: care-experienced young people don't always have access to online support, and need appropriate technological devices that don't have prohibitive restrictions. Taken together, the study findings offer insight into how interventions and services may be developed and optimised moving forward to ensure that they are meeting the needs of young people in care, and maximize likely effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has predominantly been conceptualised as a neurological process, which has precluded understanding of how social, cultural and material discourses inform the expression of emotional experiences. Gender remains a notable omission. This article explores the micro-practices through which gender structures the development of young people’s emotional subjectivities within the context of a school-based SEL intervention. Particular emphasis is placed on the gendering strategies utilised by educational professionals during the course of their emotional pedagogy. Three strategies are considered: the overt coercion of girls to demonstrate their learning; the permission of boys’ passivity, with their docile bodies being indicated as a signifier of participation; and the restricting of occasions for emotional expression in accordance with perceived gender norms. Efforts to inculcate students with a gendered emotional subjectivity mean that differential learning opportunities are on offer, raising concerns about the introduction of new forms of gendered educational inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teachers are reported to be at increased risk of common mental health disorders compared to other occupations. Failure to support teachers adequately may lead to serious long-term mental disorders, poor performance at work (presenteeism), sickness absence and health-related exit from the profession. It also jeopardises student mental health, as distressed staff struggle to develop supportive relationships with students, and such relationships are protective against student depression. A number of school-based trials have attempted to improve student mental health, but these have mostly focused on classroom based approaches and have failed to establish effectiveness. Only a few studies have introduced training for teachers in supporting students, and none to date have included a focus on improving teacher mental health. This paper sets out the protocol (version 4.4 20/07/16) for a study aiming to address this gap.Methods: Cluster randomised controlled trial with secondary schools as the unit of randomisation. Intervention schools will receive: i) Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training for a group of staff nominated by their colleagues, after which they will set up a confidential peer support service for colleagues ii) training in MHFA for schools and colleges for a further group of teachers, which will equip them to more effectively support student mental health iii) a short mental health awareness raising session and promotion of the peer support service for all teachers. Comparison schools will continue with usual practice. The primary outcome is teacher wellbeing measured using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Secondary outcomes are teacher depression, absence and presenteeism, and student wellbeing, mental health difficulties, attendance and attainment. Measures will be taken at baseline, one year follow up (teachers only) and two year follow up. Economic and process evaluations will be embedded within the study.Discussion: This study will establish the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an intervention that supports secondary school teachers' wellbeing and mental health, and improves their skills in supporting students. It will also provide information regarding intervention implementation and sustainability.Trial Registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number: ISRCTN95909211 registered 24/03/16. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Care-experienced young people experience high levels of mental health problems. • System resources, cultures and stakeholder values, impact interventions. • Care-experienced young people valued meaningful relationships in interventions. • Carers felt interventions often overlooked their expertise and experiences. • Future interventions should support carers' time and emotional commitment. The mental health and well-being of care-experienced children and young people remains a concern. Despite a range of interventions, the existing evidence base is limited in scope, with a reliance on standalone outcome evaluations which limits understanding of how contextual factors influence implementation and acceptability. The Care-experienced cHildren and young people's Interventions to improve Mental health and wEll-being outcomes Systematic review (CHIMES) aimed to synthesise evidence of intervention theory, outcome, process and economic effectiveness. This paper reports the process evaluation synthesis, exploring how system factors facilitate and inhibit implementation and acceptability of mental health and wellbeing interventions for care-experienced children and young people. Sixteen databases and 22 websites were searched between 2020 and 2022 for studies published from 1990 and May 2022. This was supplemented with contacting experts in the field, citation tracking, screening of relevant systematic reviews and stakeholder consultations. We drew on framework synthesis of qualitative data and incorporated a systems lens, taking account of contextual influences across socio-ecological domains. Quality appraisal assessed reliability and usefulness. Confidence in synthesised findings was assessed with the GRADE-CERQual tool. We report the review in accordance with relevant elements of both the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), and the Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research (ENTREQ) checklist. Searches retrieved 15,068 unique study reports, and 23 of these were eligible for process evaluation synthesis, reporting on sixteen interventions. Studies were published between 2003 and 2021. Nine interventions were from the UK and Ireland, six interventions were from the USA, and one was from Australia. They were largely classified as interpersonal, where the aim was to modify carer-child relationships. Five key context factors were identified that supported and prohibited intervention delivery: (1) lack of system resources; (2) intervention burden, which encompasses the time, cognitive, and emotional burden associated with implementation and participation; (3) interprofessional relationships between health and social care professionals; (4) care-experienced young people's identity; and (5) carer identity. We identified several supportive and restrictive factors across social and health care systems that may impact intervention implementation and acceptability. Key implications include: the importance of involving diverse stakeholders in intervention development and delivery; the need to better resource and support those involved in interventions, particularly training and support for carers; and ensuring future evaluations integrate process evaluations in order to optimise interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]