Innovation

myHappymind

2023 | Laura Earnshaw

myHappymind is an innovative, digital mental wellness program delivered in primary schools and nurseries to children, staff and parents. It teaches science-backed strategies to prevent mental health issues and reduce CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) referrals. myHappymind is operating in over 1000 schools across the UK, is available in Welsh and is commissioned by 16 places and growing. myHappymind also has a program for families to enable parents to support their children from home. This is currently commissioned by the NHS for children on the waitlist for specialist services so that they have some support while they wait.

Mental health

The challenge

The UK faces a significant and escalating challenge with children and young people’s mental health. In 2022, 18% of children aged 7 to 16 years and 22% of young people aged 17 to 24 years had a probable mental disorder.

Despite more investment in NHS services, the pandemic has led to even greater need, leaving services overstretched. For example, fewer than 40% of those under the age of 17 with a mental health condition can access NHS support. CAMHS are overwhelmed and cannot meet demand and so issues are escalating to a devastating effect. myHappymind is a mental health solution which prevents children from getting to the stage where they need specialist support, reducing the demand for services like CAMHS and saving the NHS money.

In addition, the NHS is facing a workforce crisis, particularly when it comes to mental health. myHappymind is delivered by teachers in schools and so removes the need for mental health specialists to be drawn upon. myHappymind enables schools to deliver their own preventative and early help service without further burdening the NHS and at the same time reduces the number of children who will need NHS support in the future.

The solution

To impact the long-term mental health of our young people, we need to ensure that we’re implementing preventative solutions alongside reactive ones. myHappymind exists to do just that. It is innovative for several reasons:

myHappymind is a truly preventative intervention delivered to all children in a school, as opposed to most interventions which are reserved for children at the point of need. It prevents children from reaching the stage where they need specialist support from CAMHS and other services.
myHappymind addresses the workforce crisis. Teachers use our fully prepared programme, staff have access to a CPD-certified digital well-being programme and parents have access to a state-of-the-art app so they can support their child’s journey too. There is never a need to involve a specialist.
myHappymind’s delivery in schools benefits specialist services such as CAMHS and mental health support teams. Their workload is reduced allowing them to focus on the high priority cases. Further, it saves the NHS money by reducing referrals.
myHappymind is delivered via an innovative digital platform making adoption fast, scalable and sustainable while contributing to the net zero agenda.

The impact

myHappymind reduces CAMHS referrals by up to 43%.
myHappymind reduced fixed term exclusions by over 60%.
myHappymind reduces the demand on SENCo time by 67% (SENCo is a dedicated role in the school focussed on supporting children with emotional needs).

Source: Cheshire West CCG 2018-2019 study in conjunction with 25 primary schools

For more information, visit: https://myhappymind.org/