Course Details

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT · ENGLAND AND WALES

Managing Child Anxiety and Depression in Schools

Recognition, response, escalation and referral for education practitioners in England and Wales.

NINE MODULES · 20-QUESTION ASSESSMENT · CONTENT POSITION 6 SEPTEMBER 2026

CPD HOURS

20 hours

ACCREDITED BY

CPD Standards Office

FORMAT

Blended self-paced

SLIDES

PPT Deck

LISTEN

Audio Podcast

QUIZ

Audio Quiz

VISUAL

Infographic

Overview

This is a continuing professional development course on recognising and responding to anxiety and depression in children and young people, for practitioners in schools and colleges in England and Wales. It is written for people who already work with pupils and who need current, practical knowledge rather than an introduction to child development.

The course is built on one frame: notice early, respond calmly, escalate the same day, refer with evidence, support while waiting, and look after the adults doing it. It covers prevalence and presentation, the statutory and legal framework in both nations, recognition of anxiety and of depression, the whole-school approach, day-to-day classroom response, self-harm and suicide risk at the level of recognition, response, escalation and referral, referral pathways and multi-agency working, and sustaining practice through supervision and staff wellbeing. It does not teach clinical assessment or treatment, and it contains no method or means detail about self-harm or suicide anywhere. The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead and policies take precedence throughout.

Who this course is for

Assumes learners are already working with children or young people in an education setting and have completed basic safeguarding training. Not a counselling or therapy qualification, a substitute for DSL training, a Mental Health First Aid course, or clinical training in assessment or treatment. It does not train anyone to run a suicide risk assessment; it trains them to recognise, respond, escalate and refer.

▸
Teachers and teaching assistants in primary, secondary, special and alternative provision settings

▸
Pastoral leads, heads of year, SENCOs and ALNCos, ELSAs and learning mentors

▸
Senior mental health leads (England), wellbeing leads (Wales) and designated safeguarding leads and deputies

▸
School and college counsellors, Education Mental Health Practitioners and MHST leads working in or with schools

▸
Senior leaders and governors responsible for the whole-school approach, safeguarding and staff wellbeing

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

✓ State current prevalence figures with their source and limits.

✓ Distinguish ordinary worry and low mood from anxiety and depressive disorders.

✓ Explain the school’s role — notice, support, escalate, refer — and its limits.

✓ Locate the duties in KCSIE 2026, Working Together 2023 and the Welsh whole-school framework.

✓ Apply the Equality Act 2010, the SEND Code (England) and the ALN Code (Wales) to a pupil with anxiety or depression.

✓ Handle consent, confidentiality and information sharing lawfully.

✓ Recognise the main presentations of anxiety in school settings.

✓ Understand the avoidance cycle and why reassurance can maintain it.

✓ Use observation and structured conversation, not diagnosis, to describe what you see.

✓ Recognise the presentations of depression across ages, including irritability and withdrawal.

✓ Describe the NICE NG134 stepped-care model and where school support sits.

✓ Recognise the statements and signs that require same-day escalation to the DSL.

✓ Describe the eight principles of a whole-school approach and the Welsh framework’s equivalent.

✓ Identify what universal provision should deliver for anxiety and depression.

✓ Evaluate a setting’s approach using self-assessment tools rather than assertion.

✓ Apply the graduated response to a pupil with anxiety or low mood.

✓ Use co-regulation and de-escalation in moments of acute distress.

✓ Build a pastoral or SEN/ALN support plan with the pupil and family.

✓ Recognise indicators of self-harm and suicide risk and respond safely in the moment.

✓ Escalate correctly, including the 999/A&E and 111 routes, and involve the DSL.

✓ Describe safe messaging, school-level safety planning and postvention principles.

✓ Map the local referral pathways and their thresholds.

✓ Make a referral that is accepted and useful.

✓ Support a pupil and family through a long wait and a multi-agency process.

✓ Recognise the cumulative effect of this work on staff and the supervision that mitigates it.

✓ Set boundaries that protect both pupils and practitioners.

✓ Maintain a policy and evidence register with review dates, and know what differs in Wales.

Career path

▸ Class teacher or teaching assistant — recognition, the check-in conversation, adjustments, the escalation route in both nations → pastoral or SEND roles; ELSA training through the educational psychology service; MHFA Youth or similar

▸ Pastoral lead, SENCO or ALNCo — the legal framework, support planning, referral evidence, working with CAMHS and MHSTs → senior mental health lead (England) or wellbeing lead (Wales); DSL deputy; NASENCO or Welsh equivalent

▸ DSL or senior mental health lead — KCSIE 2026 mental health provisions, Welsh framework self-evaluation, safety planning, postvention, supervision → DfE-recognised senior mental health lead training; safeguarding lead networks; governance roles

▸ School counsellor or EMHP — the school’s side of the pathway, the legal duties on schools, and how to be a useful partner → professional body accreditation on their terms; MHST supervisor and clinical roles

▸ Senior leader or governor — the whole-school approach as a governance responsibility; staff wellbeing duties; evidence Ofsted and Estyn look for → strategic lead for wellbeing; local safeguarding partnership and system roles

Mental health work in schools is not a licensed profession. Progression comes through role, training recognised by the relevant employer or body, and evidence of practice. This course supports those routes; it does not replace the qualifications they require.

Course structure

1
Anxiety and Depression in Children: The Picture in 2026

2
The Legal and Policy Framework

3
Recognising Anxiety

4
Recognising Depression and Low Mood

5
The Whole-School Approach and Prevention

6
Responding in the Classroom and the Corridor

7
Self-Harm, Suicide Risk and Crisis Response

8
Referral Pathways and Multi-Agency Working

9
Sustaining Practice: Supervision, Staff Wellbeing and Keeping Current

Each module includes a further-learning link and an Apply and Reflect task. Modules 4 and 7 discuss depression, self-harm and suicide risk at recognition, response, escalation and referral level only, with no methods, means or clinical detail; a practitioner-support note precedes Module 4 (support routes include your DSL, line manager, occupational health, an EAP, Education Support, and 999/A&E in an emergency), plus a 20-question assessment with a trainer-only answer key and rationales.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is this a qualification or a licence to practise?

No. It is CPD. It does not qualify anyone to assess, diagnose or treat, does not replace DSL or senior mental health lead training, and does not confer any professional membership. It evidences learning; competence is evidenced through your role, supervision and record.

Q. Is it accredited, and how many CPD points is it worth?

That is for the provider to state, and it must not be claimed unless it is true. Nothing in the pack claims an accreditation, an awarding body or a points value.

Q. Does it teach how to assess suicide risk?

No, and it should not. It teaches staff to recognise indicators, respond safely in the moment, escalate the same day under KCSIE 2026 or Welsh procedures, and refer. Risk assessment is for clinicians, and the course contains no method or means in detail.

Q. Does it cover Scotland or Northern Ireland?

No. Safeguarding guidance, curriculum, special needs frameworks and mental health services are different in both. Every slide carries the England and Wales caveat.

Q. Is it up to date?

As at 6 September 2026, using KCSIE 2026 (in force 1 September 2026), the Children’s Commissioner’s June 2026 report, the June 2026 MHST coverage figures and the December 2025 Welsh framework document. KCSIE changes every September.

Q. Does it replace our school’s own policies?

No. The course says repeatedly that the school’s policies, procedures and DSL take precedence. It is designed to help staff apply their own policies well, and to help leaders check those policies match current guidance.

Q. Is there a pass mark?

The provider sets it. A commonly used threshold for a 20-question knowledge check is 15/20 (75%), with the answer key used for a debrief.

Q. Can we deliver it to all staff?

Modules 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 are suitable for all staff with the support note read first; Modules 2, 5, 8 and 9 are pitched at leads. Many providers deliver the all-staff modules as twilight sessions and the lead modules as a day.

MANAGING CHILD ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN SCHOOLS · 20 CPD HOURS · ACCREDITED BY CPD STANDARDS OFFICE · NINE MODULES

£25.00

Course Features

Lectures 11
Quizzes 2
Duration Lifetime access
Skill level All levels
Language English
Students 2
Certificate Yes
Assessments Self