Last month David Cameron talked publicly about teenage mental health as he called for an end to the stigma surrounding the issue and personally highlighted government funding for mental health services (including the first ever waiting time targets to be introduced for teenagers with eating disorders).
This funding is clearly needed: prior to this, child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) received less than 0.6 per cent of the total NHS budget. Children’s mental health issues are becoming an increasingly important – and talked about – issue across the UK and it’s not difficult to see why: research shows that rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have increased by 70 per cent in the past 25 years and in the past three years, hospital admissions for teenagers with eating disorders have almost doubled.
Research shows that early intervention is invaluable when it comes to tackling mental health problems and preventing their affects lasting into adulthood. With half of lifetime mental health issues starting by age 14, there has been a renewed focus on the role of the education system.
Future in Mind, published by the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce last year, made recommendations for improving children’s mental health and services, with a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention, including the vital role schools have to play.
The National Children’s Bureau and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) wanted to understand how schools are responding to this challenge. We surveyed ASCL members to get a better picture of the prevalence of mental health issues, how the wellbeing needs of pupils are changing, and schools’ experience of referring young people.
The 338 responses showed that most leaders reported that at least one to 10 per cent of their students had experienced a mental health condition. Not only were anxiety or stress, low mood or depression, and family-relationship issues some of the most common issues, but these were areas in which the leaders had seen the greatest increase over the last five years. Respondents also frequently noted issues relating to peer-relationships, with a particular increase seen when it came to cyber-bullying, self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
Despite schools and colleges offering a range of activities to raise awareness and address students’ wellbeing and mental health, only a third reported that their school was confident in supporting their students in this way, indicating a need to develop the skills and experience of school staff. Most said their institution made use of counselling sessions or support from other specialist staff to provide help to their students. Overall, the most commonly reported challenges headteachers faced related to limited funding to offer support, a scarcity of local services available for referral, and poor capacity within these services.
There was widespread desire to see expansion in CAMHS, which was reported as being the most commonly used referral route, but there was general dissatisfaction with the referral procedure. Over half of respondents said that CAMHS services were either “poor” or “very poor” at supporting students.
What is clear is that schools are eager, open and willing to support their students but can lack confidence and knowledge. While a growing willingness to talk about mental health is a welcome challenge to the stigma long associated with this illness, more support for the services that reach out to young people, both in and outside school, is still sorely needed.
Anna Feuchtwang is chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau. Visit www.ncb.org.uk
Further information
The survey report – What Works in Promoting Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Responding to Mental Health Problems in Schools? – is at www.ncb.org.uk