Quality standard

Quality statement 8: Education and employment‑related training

Quality statement 8: Education and employment‑related training

Quality statement

Children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis and schizophrenia have arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training included in their care plan.

Rationale

Children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia may need additional support to continue or return to mainstream education or employment‑related training, or to access a suitable alternative education programme within the community or hospital. Arranging for children and young people to access suitable education or employment‑related training is an important component of transition care planning, and will improve academic and social development and overall life chances.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence of local arrangements to ensure that children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia have arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training included in their care plan.

Data source: Local data collection.

Process

Proportion of children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia who have arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training included in their care plan.

Numerator – the number in the denominator who have arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training included in their care plan.

Denominator – the number of children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia.

Data source: Local data collection.

Outcome

a) Satisfaction of children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia with the support they received to access education or employment‑related training.

Data source: Local data collection.

b) Educational attainment of young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia at age 16 years.

Data source: Local data collection.

c) Educational attainment of young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia at age 19 years.

Data source: Local data collection.

d) Employment of people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia.

Data source: Local data collection.

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Service providers (such as child and adolescent mental health services, early intervention in psychosis services and schools) ensure that children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia have arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training included in their care plan. This may include support to participate in mainstream education, employment‑related training or referral to an education programme in an alternative community or hospital setting.

Health and social care practitioners (such as psychologists and social workers) ensure that arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training are included in the care plan for children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia. Practitioners should be aware of local referral pathways and work with local partners to meet the needs of individual children and young people.

Commissioners (such as clinical commissioning groups, NHS England, local authorities and regional schools commissioners) commission services that ensure that arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training are included in the care plan for children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia. They should also commission alternative education provision in community and hospital settings, ensuring that appropriate referral pathways are in place and carrying out audits of the availability, quality and intensity of alternative education provision.

Children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia should have a care plan that sets out how they can continue their education or training while they are unwell. If they agree, their healthcare team can contact their school or college to ask their teachers to give them extra support if needed. If they are too ill to go to school or college, they may be offered other help with their education (such as education at home or at a special school) until they get better. They should also be able to continue their education if they are in hospital.

Source guidance

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Arrangements for accessing education or employment‑related training

This may include:

  • contacting the child or young person's school or college (with their consent) to ask for additional educational or training support if needed, or to ensure that ongoing education or training is provided

  • applying for a special education needs assessment

  • referral to an alternative education programme in a hospital or community setting. Education programmes should meet the National Curriculum requirements, be matched to the child or young person's developmental and educational level, and take account of their illness and impairment. Alternative education programmes will focus on supporting the child or young person to return to mainstream education or training when possible.

[Adapted from NICE's guideline on psychosis and schizophrenia in children and young people, recommendations 1.8.11 (key priority for implementation), 1.1.5, 1.3.9, 1.5.10 and 1.8.12, and expert opinion]

Equality and diversity considerations

Children and young people with bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia should have equal access to education and employment‑related training and should not be excluded because of their mental health condition.