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Poorest children are more likely to have mental health issues

Pastoral issues Pupil wellbeing
Children from families with the lowest incomes are four times more likely to have psychological problems than those from the richest families, evidence shows.

However, a majority of the poorest children facing these problems have not seen a psychologist.

These findings are part of a major new analysis which suggests that poor childhood mental health is costing the UK a total of £550 billion in lost earnings.

Broken down, this means that someone who experiences psychological health problems during their childhood will lose more than £300,000 in income during their adult lives.

The findings come after the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, confirmed that this week’s Budget would allocate £1.25 billion to mental health services. He said the funding is intended to give the NHS the ability to treat more than 100,000 young people by 2020.

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