Children’s Mental Health Week – the spotlight has to be on the huge rise in significant mental ill-heath
‘Growing Together’ – #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek
Children’s Mental Health Week coincides with the shocking NHS referrals data analysed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the BBC that saw a 77% rise in the number of children needing specialist treatment for severe mental health crisis.¹
This report comes as no surprise to many with bleak statistics being reported almost daily and amidst vital calls to action such as the Time for action – Centre for Mental Health report which highlights the need for strategic change and prioritised whole system approach – the time for change surely is now.
The Children’s Mental Health Week ‘Growing Together’ message is that “challenges and setbacks can help us to grow and adapt and trying new things can help us to move beyond our comfort zone into a new realm of possibility and potential.” It has never been more poignant or pressing for a focus on wellbeing and mental health and the need for us to grow in strength and commitment together. It is truly desperate that the mental health of our children is in such crisis and without sufficient means of specialist care and provision, or enough focus on universal approaches as much needed early and preventative intervention.
It is often the case that schools are the holding place, with insufficient avenues of support for children with significant and high-level needs. A focus on strengthening the work within schools could be pivotal, with the right resources, staffing and supervision, and built within a whole system framework that enables greater access to wider services with a cohesive range of treatment, prevention and education.
Only those children with the most serious mental health problems are referred for specialist care.
It is not just at this most severe level that we are in crisis, it is the pervasiveness of mental ill-health in our children and young people at every level, to the point that 95% of UK educational professionals have highlighted an “increase in emotional and mental health issues among pupils’ particularly the rise in anxiety, low self-esteem, depression and sustained feelings of anger.” according to research published by Place2Be and NAHT ahead of Children’s Mental Health Week.²
“The findings of this survey are truly shocking – but unfortunately, to anyone working in schools, they are not surprising. Our members consistently raise pupil mental health and wellbeing as one of their top priorities – they really are on the frontline when it comes to identifying and supporting children and young people’s mental health needs.” Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of NAHT commented.
Schools often do incredible work in supporting children and young people, yet there is a need for greater funding, resources, specialist training and ongoing supervision for staff too. We also mustn’t underestimate the power of the relational work schools do in supporting children’s wellbeing and this, in collaboration with access to wider services, would ensure more vulnerable children’s needs are met and the right provision is made available.
Catherine Roche, Chief Executive of Place2Be highlighted how “with the right embedded specialist support, schools can be a fantastic place to address issues early on and promote positive mental health.”
It is not just the work of specialist teams that needs to be prioritised but the recognition that much of the universal and intervention work can be done in schools if there where there is adequate funding, resources, and appropriately trained and supported staff.
What we need now is prioritised funding and wide-ranging support so that there is significant change that is long-lasting and that can really make a difference and change the trajectory of mental health in our children.
