Commenting on The Government’s Green Paper on Mental
Health: Failing a Generation, a joint report by the House of
Commons Education and Health and Social Care
Committees, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary
of the National Education Union, said:
“The Education and Health and Social Care Committees have
highlighted the Government’s consistent failings to tackle the
crisis in child mental health provision in their joint report.
The NEU supports their call for independent evidence on the
impact of exam pressure and a narrowed school curriculum on young
people’s mental health. We agree with the Committees that
PSHE should be compulsory in all schools.
“We share the analysis that the crisis in child mental health
provision will not be ‘transformed’ by the unambitious proposals
in the Government’s Green Paper. A Government that’s complacent
about child poverty and relaxed about excessive testing in
schools can’t claim to care about young people’s mental health.
The NEU shares the concerns about the slow timeframes for action
which will leave many children without care that is urgent.
Funding cuts to schools, colleges and local authorities which
have decimated mental health support services must be reversed,
otherwise we leave vulnerable students at a higher risk of
experiencing mental health conditions.
“We face great barriers to getting the right support to children
and their families because of inadequate funding, cuts to
services, competing pressures on schools and education policies
that undermine inclusion. If the Government wants to ensure
schools, colleges and specialist mental health services can deal
with the increasing numbers of referrals, they must be fully
funded and fully staffed.”
