CMA – Youth Mental Health

Date Request Received: 21/04/2026  -  Date Response Sent: 22/04/2026

Details of Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to enquire the following information/procedures please.

For these questions, I have put suggestive answers besides to each one, as opposed to them just being a yes/no question due to the complexity of them.

These questions are likely suited for the Designated Safeguarding Lead but can be responded to by any school staff equipped to answer the questions. The questions only relate to 11-18 year olds students.

Below the questions I have included additional information regarding myself to provide a context of why this FOI is being done. This is not mandatory to read and I have only included it if you wish to understand why this FOI is being done.

Some of the questions may not apply to your educational setting, to which you can put ’n/a’.

For any closed questions, these do not have to yes/no answers due to the complexity (for example ‘yes, provided they are Gillick competent and there’s no risk present’)

1- Name of school/college/university

2- What age bracket is there in your school/college (e.g. years 7-11/ages 16-18/16+)?

3- What is the local authority of where your school is located?

4- During school hours can a fifteen year old go to an appointment without guardians being informed (e.g. dentist/GP/CAMHS)?

5- If you answered yes to the above question, would the student be accompanied by a staff member (if so what job profession) or would they be allowed to leave the premises alone?

6- During school hours can a seventeen year old go to an appointment without guardians being informed (e.g. dentist/GP/CAMHS)?

7- If you answered yes to the above question, would the student be accompanied by a staff member (if so what job profession) or would they be allowed to leave the premises alone?

8- During school hours can a eighteen year old go to an appointment without guardians being informed (e.g. dentist/GP/mental health services)?

9- If you answered yes to the above question, would the student be accompanied by a staff member (if so what job profession) or would they be allowed to leave the premises alone?

10- Does you school/college have the option to refer students to CAMHS?

11- Can you make a referral to CAMHS for a fifteen year old without guardians being informed?

12- Can you make a referral to CAMHS for a seventeen year old without guardians being informed?

13- If an eighteen year old needed support for their mental health, what service, if any, can your school/college make a referral for them to?

14- Can you make that referral without guardians being informed?

15- Is there any counselling/CAMHS services offered within the school itself? If so, is it provided by the school itself, the local NHS trust or a third party charity/organisation? What ages are these services for?

16- If there is a counselling/CAMHS service within the school/college, can a fifteen year old utilise these services without guardians being informed?

17- If there is a counselling/CAMHS service within the school/college, can a seventeen year old utilise these services without guardians being informed?

Details of Response