Social, emotional and mental health needs for children

About social, emotional and mental health needs for children

Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs are a type of special educational needs where children and young people find it difficult to manage their emotions and behaviour.

Children or young people with SEMH needs may:

  • Have anxiety or low moods
  • Appear as withdrawn
  • Find it difficult to attend school or engage with learning
  • Feel scared, nervous or misunderstood
  • Find it difficult to express their emotions or control their emotions
  • Experience difficulty building and maintaining relationships
  • Have difficulty understanding social situations and may show inappropriate responses to situations
  • Display disruptive, antisocial, uncooperative or aggressive behaviour
  • Engage in stealing, truancy, vandalism or drugs