A New Academic Year… and a Continuing Crisis in Young People’s Mental Health

The new academic year is well underway. Many young people are glad to be back with their friends, glad of the routine and structure that the school day provides, and glad to be back in the classroom learning. For too many young people nationally however, school is an additional source of pressure, anxiety and judgement.

The statistics are stark. In autumn 2021 the Children’s Commissioner reported 1 in 4 school age children were persistently absent from school, up from 1 in 9 in the year before the pandemic. We no longer refer to children as school refusers. This has been replaced with Emotionally Based School Avoidance, a recognition of the genuine, underlying emotional and mental health issues associated with an inability to attend school, or stay in lessons. The roots of EBSA can be complex; often an interplay of factors relating to child, home and school is at work. The child may struggle to regulate emotions, may suffer with anxiety or low self esteem. Layer on stress at home caused by financial worries, changing family dynamics, or parents with their own mental health difficulties. Top with the school experience, which for many young people involves difficulties in subjects, struggles to fit in with their peer group, bullying, and strained relationships with adults and the result is a child not attending school.

As educators and parents we know that school is fundamental to the lives of our young people. Not only does school provide the academic tools needed for our students to achieve their career and life ambitions, it can be fundamental in providing the protective factors to support young people with their mental health. At TCC we are committed to a whole school approach to good mental health. We are working hard to promote a culture where early intervention and dialogue is key.

However, we know that we are working within a national context where the mental health of our nation is suffering and where services are in crisis. In 2021 it was estimated that 1 in 6 young people had a mental health problem, up from 1 in 9 pre pandemic. Young Minds estimates that only 1 in 3 of young people with a diagnosable mental health condition receives timely access to NHS treatment. This can have profound consequences; in 2019 24% of 17 year olds admitted self harm in the previous year, 7% of those with suicidal intent. In 2019 suicide was the leading cause of death in people under 30.

Being the parent of a young person facing mental health challenges can feel desperately isolating and frightening. There is a temptation to feel you are the only one whose child is facing these difficulties. This is very far from the truth. As a school we face our own challenges on this front. The external services and expert support we would like for so many of our students and families is simply not available. We are, however, committed to working with our families to continue to provide a culture in which our students feel able to express their worries, talk honestly about their emotions and seek support. To that end there are a number of initiatives in school aimed at supporting wellbeing, including:

An in-school referral pathway providing access to a wellbeing team that includes a youth worker from the Mix and a Mental Health Practitioner
Social, emotional and mental health interventions including ELSA (regular sessions with a trained worker aimed at developing students’ emotional resilience)
Regular monitoring of students’ in school online activity, including the installation of the R;pple suicide prevention tool.

As parents there are a number of resources you may find helpful in supporting your children with their mental health difficulties. These include: