It is not uncommon for school leaders to tell me they have been forced to take severely traumatised pupils to A&E because they have been unable to get them into local mental health care.
They have had to resort to doing so because – alongside a greater prevalence of mental health problems in children and young people – specialist services have seen chronic under-investment.
This has happened over a long period of time, but particularly since 2010.
For example, we know that mental ill-health accounts for approximately 23 per cent of all NHS activity and 38 per cent of all illness for under-65s, but funding for mental health provision is equivalent to less than 12 per cent of NHS spending (The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, Mental Health Taskforce, February 2016).
Register now, read forever
Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.
What's included:
-
Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast
-
New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday
Already have an account? Sign in here