Opinion: Koulla Yiasouma, the Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland

MENTAL health and emotional wellbeing must be viewed in the same way as our physical health.

We all have times when we are unwell and sometimes it passes, whilst at other times we need help.

This week saw our Primary One-Three children go back to school in what I hope is the end of the final school closure caused by this pandemic.

We must not underestimate the impact of school closures on our children and young people’s mental health, but I caution against making assumptions and thinking we know how our children are.

It is vital that schools use the first days back to assess where individual children and young people are, both emotionally and academically.

Then, they must put in place responses which should – if necessary – run through the Summer in preparation for the new school year in September.

These plans cannot only be the responsibility of schools but delivered in partnership with others from all agencies, including the voluntary and community sectors who have been critical to the wellbeing of many families during the pandemic.

It is imperative the school return is not, initially, about preparing children for any external exam or collecting evidence to inform grades.

Our children’s mental health should be the top priority and we must support them through what has been a traumatic time for many. Without good mental health, no child will be able to participate in education.

On the other side of this, our children must meet a reformed mental health system that continues to support their positive mental health.

Ironically, the pandemic has paved the way for some positive changes in children’s mental health services.

The response to the pandemic has shown how quickly services and systems can change when they have to.

Online booking system

Overnight, we saw the introduction of an online booking system for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) appointments as well as evening and weekend clinics where they did not exist before.

The system is fully expecting a surge in demand due to the impact of the pandemic and it is important it is ready to meet this once it comes. Services across the system are still available and children and families must reach out for help if they need it.

The seeds of reform have been planted, but we need to use the current urgency, dynamism, commitment and determination to see reform through to full fruition, so that our children are less likely to experience mental health issues and, if they do, that the right services are there, across the system, when they are needed.

The good news is that light is, every day, creeping in to this tunnel.

One day, this will be in the past, and with the right support our children will begin to flourish once more; they will begin to experience the childhoods and adolescence that they truly deserve, and they will tell the story of how they sacrificed and endured.

We all have a role in building on the foundations to support our children’s positive mental health to make this happen.