Commenting on the report of the Education Policy Institute (EPI)
on access to children and young people’s mental health services
(CAMHS), Anna Cole, Parliamentary and Inclusion Specialist at the
Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This bleak picture of vulnerable young people being turned away
from specialist mental health services or facing long waiting
times for treatment is all-too familiar to schools. The
difficulty in accessing these vital services means that schools
and teachers are frequently supporting and caring for young
people in severe distress, even to the extent of having to take
them to A&E because they have been unable to access timely
specialist support.
“This problem is compounded by cutbacks to local authority
services which results in schools having to put in place more
support for young people with severe and complex needs – even
though their own budgets have been cut to the bone. We need
properly resourced specialist services with clear and consistent
criteria on access and an immediate improvement in school
funding.
“We also need to do more to understand the factors that are
driving up the prevalence of mental health problems among young
people. This is a complex area and there is no easy answer. But
two issues which have caused us concern are the impact of social
media use and misuse, and the impact of new harder GCSEs.”
ASCL has conducted surveys on the impact of social media and the
impact of new GCSEs on the mental health and wellbeing of young
people which can be accessed here:
https://www.ascl.org.uk/news-and-views/news_news-detail.nine-out-of-10-headteachers-say-social-media-is-damaging-the-mental-health-of-pupils.html
https://www.ascl.org.uk/news-and-views/news_news-detail.new-gcses-have-increased-stress-and-anxiety-say-90-of-school-leaders.html
