Commenting on a Young Minds survey, which shows that academic
pressure is a significant factor affecting the mental health of
young people, Kevin
Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
“As this survey shows, teachers play an important role in the
support of children and young people experiencing mental health
issues. They are however being hindered by a combination of
real-terms funding cuts, a reduction in teaching and learning
support assistants and the increasingly strained access to
external support services, including mental health specialists.
The narrowing of the curriculum, and exam factory assessment are
also clearly having an impact on children and young people’s
mental health.
“A series of NEU surveys have shown a clear increase in the
number of pupils experiencing mental health issues. Just last
month, 73% of teachers told us they believe student mental health
has worsened since the introduction of reformed GCSEs. This is
borne out by the Young Minds survey, which shows that school
pressure was the top reason these young people turned for help
with their mental health, bigger than concerns over body image,
bullying or social media.”.
“It is quite clear that Government policies on education and the
underfunding of public services is contributing to this
destructive and distressing situation for young people and their
families. The Government has an opportunity at next week’s
spending review to address the shortfall of funding our vital
public services desperately need.”
Editor’s Note
(1) Reformed GCSEs are damaging the mental health of
young people, and failing to accurately reflect their
abilities, 21 August 2019:https://neu.org.uk/press-releases/reformed-gcses-are-damaging-mental-health-young-people-and-failing-accurately
