Objectives: A very small proportion of children with anxiety problems receive evidencebased treatment. Barriers to access include difficulties with problem identification, concerns
about stigma, a lack of clarity about how to access specialist services, and their limited
availability. A school-based programme that integrates screening ...
Objectives: A very small proportion of children with anxiety problems receive evidencebased treatment. Barriers to access include difficulties with problem identification, concerns
about stigma, a lack of clarity about how to access specialist services, and their limited
availability. A school-based programme that integrates screening to identify those children
who are most likely to be experiencing anxiety problems, with the offer of intervention, has
the potential to overcome many of these barriers. This article is a process-based account of
how we used co-design to develop a primary school-based screening and intervention
programme for child anxiety problems.
Design: Co-design.
Setting: UK primary schools.
Participants: Data were collected from Year Four children (ages 8-9 years), parents, school
staff and mental health practitioners.
Results: We report how the developed programme was experienced and perceived by a range
of users, including parents, children, school staff and mental health practitioners, as well as
how the programme was adapted following user feedback.
Conclusions: We reflect on the mitigation techniques we employed, the lessons learnt from
the co-design process, and give recommendations that may inform the development and
implementation of future school-based screening and intervention programmes