Investing in the mental health of Fife: a sustainable model for increasing mental health workforce capacity to help children flourish

Playfield Institute is a unique partnership between child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and public health. The institute model is an innovative response to the national challenge to mainstream mental health. Its focus is to build the capacity of frontline workers (otherwise known as the children's workforce eg. school nurses, social workers, teachers, foster carers etc.) to promote the mental health of children and young people. It works by providing a multi‐agency forum for sharing information and developing practical skills on how to help children flourish. It also encourages reflection on practice and undertakes research that has a direct impact on the development of training and practice. To date, the Institute has achieved the following main outcomes: the facilitation of a successful training programme, the development of a well used, effective, online resource and the co‐ordination of a range of applied research projects. This paper discusses why the Institute was set up, what it is, what it has achieved and how the model is sustainable.