Responding to the DfE's new state-of-the-nation report
on children's mental healthreleased during mental health
awareness week, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school
leaders' union NAHT, said:
“These extremely worrying findings chime with the experiences of
our members, who have seen the damaging impact of the pandemic
and cost-of-living crisis on children exacerbate long-standing
concerns around young people’s wellbeing and mental health.
“School leaders and their staff work tirelessly to identify
mental health needs and support children’s well-being, but they
are not mental health specialists and they need to be able to
draw on the expertise and support of specialist services.
"It is unfair on staff and pupils for schools to be left to
struggle to paper over the cracks left by an unacceptable
postcode lottery in early support and mental health treatment in
which many children face long waits for treatment or are told
their problems are not bad enough to warrant help.
“We welcome the introduction of mental health support teams
working with schools, but the government must speed up their
roll-out and go further by investing in counselling services in
all schools.
“The government must also fund easy-access mental health support
services in every community offering early support to children
with emerging issues, while also investing more in treatment and
crisis services so all children get help when they need it.”
