Commenting on a new report from the Health and Social Care
Committee on mental health services for children and young
people,Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
"The findings of the select committee are damning but not
surprising to those in the education sector. Our members know
only too well that in too many cases young people's mental health
has deteriorated during the pandemic. They require specialist
assessment and support, but supply is not meeting demand.
"Mental Health Support Teams currently work with only a small
percentage of schools - approximately one thousand - and the
target of 35% coverage by 2023/24 is just not good enough.
Notwithstanding the issues of rollout, MHSTs can only support low
to moderate mental health issues. Many on the waiting list will
quickly require more specialist support.
"Successive Conservative governments have throttled the capacity
of local authorities to fully support schools. They must
recognise this and redouble their efforts to come to the aid of
young people who need the help. Investing in training more MHST
practitioners would drastically reduce the timeframe for rollout,
in order that all schools benefit from early support by the end
of 2022. That is the kind of ambition and sense of mission that
is required at this moment.
"Assessment and diagnosis times have reached a critical point
now. We agree with all the recommendations of this report. The
government must listen and follow them through."
