Labour calls on Government action to improve children’s mental health in Child Mental Health Week

Labour is today forcing Conservative MPs to choose between backing Labour’s transformative plans to guarantee all who need mental health support, including children, access to it within a month, or to double down on refusing to respond to pleas from parents and teachers to get a proper plan in place. 

While the government is locked in battling to save Boris Johnson’s job, Tuesday’s opposition day debate will show that only Labour has a plan for the future of mental health services, providing security for generations to come. 

In addition to the guarantee of mental health treatment within a month to all who need it, Labour is proposing a package to provide specialist mental health support in every school, so that they can support pupils and resolve problems before they escalate. This plan would see a full-time mental health professional in every secondary school and a part time professional in every primary school. The next Labour Government would also put an open access mental health hub for children and young people in every community, providing early intervention drop-in services in a secure environment, for when children need to seek help themselves. 

Analysis for the BBC by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, found there has been a 77% rise in the number of children needing specialist treatment for severe mental health crisis, which includes the most serious and urgent cases where the child faces an immediate risk from an eating disorder, self-harm or suicidal thoughts. 

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Shadow Minister for Mental Health, said: 

“Adverse childhood experiences are a key trigger for mental illness in later life – that is why we need a preventative approach to offer security for future generations. 

“While the Conservatives are focussed on turmoil in Westminster, Labour is focussed on the children affected by poor mental health, who are slipping through the cracks.

“A Labour Government will prioritise children’s wellbeing as we recover from the pandemic, by providing specialist mental health support in every school and placing an open access mental health hub for children and young people in every community. 

“Early intervention is key if we want to give every child the opportunity and security of a healthy start in life.”

Helen Hayes, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, said: 

“The devastating impact of Covid-19 on young people’s mental health and wellbeing is plain to see, yet Ministers seem oblivious to the reality with no plan to secure the support young people need. 

“By providing qualified in-school counselling staff Labour would get children the support they need, alongside delivering a boost wellbeing post-pandemic through delivering new activities and experiences around the school day.

“Time and again throughout this pandemic the government has treated our children as an afterthought. It’s time Ministers get a grip and show some ambition for children’s futures.” 

Ends

Notes to editors 

1. Mental health hubs for children and young people in every community
   
   These hubs provide early intervention and support for young people, a visible, easily-located point of access for mental health care, drop-in services and guiding young people (and their families) to further treatment pathways.
   
   Hub services will be available to all children and young people under 25 on an “open access” basis, with no referral needed.
   
   Research has found that providing services on this basis can help to reach groups who would otherwise be less likely to access mental health treatment.
   
   The Children’s Society (2021) The case for open access well-being services. Available via: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/professionals/resources/case-for-open-access-hubs
   
   It is estimated that these hubs would reach 500,000 young people per year if they were rolled out nationally. 

1. Specialist mental health support in every school
   
   Our plan will ensure all children and young people can access the mental health support they need as they transition back to school and the stresses of the last year are reduced.
   
   Under our proposals, every secondary school will have access to the services of one additional full-time specialist staff member, while primary schools will have access to specialist staff time, shared between different local primary schools.
   
   It will ensure that teaching staff are not required to take on additional pastoral responsibilities beyond their areas of expertise, ensuring staff capacity is used most efficiently. 

1. BBC report

Rise in cases of children requiring specialist treatment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-60197150 

1. Labour’s Children’s Recovery Plan

Labour’s plan would deliver:

• Small group tutoring for all who need it

• Breakfast clubs and activities for every child 

• Quality mental health support for children in every school

• Continued professional development for teachers to support pupils to catch up on lost learning, and

• Targeted extra investment from early years to further education to support young people who struggled most with learning in lockdown

1. Labour motion

That this House recognises the importance of Children's Mental Health Week; is concerned about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of young people and that there has been a 77% rise in the number of children needing treatment for severe mental health issues since 2019; calls on the Government to guarantee mental health treatment within a month for all who need it and to provide specialist mental health support in every school, including a full-time mental health professional in every secondary school and a part-time professional in every primary school; and further calls for the Government to establish open access mental health hubs for children and young people in every community to ensure the best start to life for future generations.