1516-834 – Mental Health Awareness Training

Islington Council invites suitable expressions of interest from suppliers for Mental Health Awareness Training in Camden and Islington.

This is a joint commission by Islington Council And Camden Clinical Commissioning Group for similar training services in both boroughs. The commissioning is led by Islington Council.


Current status / Background

Promoting positive mental health and well-being is a strategic priority for both Camden and Islington. In recent years stakeholders and commissioners have worked to increase the capacity and capability of communities and key front-facing services to help themselves and others when experiencing mental health distress and to tackle stigma and discrimination around mental health. Working to raise awareness and decrease stigma encourages more people to help themselves and others to access support for mental health problems at an early stage.

The mental health awareness training service will sit within a comprehensive approach to mental health promotion and suicide prevention in both boroughs. The overall aims of the mental health promotion programme are to:

• raise awareness and understanding of mental health and services amongst key local workforce in order to recognise and support mental health distress and problems
• raise awareness and develop a better understanding of mental health among Camden and Islington’s population, particularly for at-risk groups;
• encourage help seeking behaviour or self-help;
• decrease local inequalities (particularly in timely access to services);
• raise awareness of local mental health services;
• reduce stigma and discrimination around mental health at community level and in the work place;
• promote recovery and positive outcomes for young people and adults with mental health problems;
• reduce the suicide rates in Camden and Islington through better support and early recognition of mental distress and problems, including self-care, familiarity with local resources and early access to treatment.

The requirement

The service will deliver high quality, evidence-based mental health awareness training courses to adults in the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington. The majority of these will be Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) courses, but the service will also include development and delivery of 1-day mental health awareness trainings and may include suicide prevention training and MHFA for Schools and Colleges. Training will be delivered both to local public-facing workforces and to local resident communities.

The training will improve trainees’ skills, knowledge and confidence in discussing mental health issues, reduce the stigma associated with mental ill-health and increase knowledge of local services.

Applicants must have a proven track record of delivering adult learning and training courses and demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the mental health needs of Camden and Islington’s populations. Applicants must be able to engage effectively with workplace stakeholders and be able to deliver a range of creative approaches for accessing and promoting the training to local communities.