Councillors should be placed in all schools, advises children’s commissioner

Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England has called for all schools to provide counselling for pupils.

In a speech to the Commons Education Committee, Longfield said she will support a pilot project to provide counselling in schools, explaining that anxious children were currently turning to the internet for help.

She said: “Children and young people time and time again tell me that they would like to have people to talk to in schools.

“I think it certainly should be piloted as a systematic part of the school. My default is that it probably should be made a requirement as part of school. Children say they want it and in Wales it is part of school life.

“There is a real issue about anxiety. It is a barometer of health for children. And children are clearly saying that before we get to the stage of a diagnosed mental health condition we want some help with anxiety and we want that to be in schools.”

Research conducted by the University of Manchester has found that between 64-80 per cent of secondary schools in England currently have counsellors.

Longfield also referenced a consultation she held with children in order to find out about what mental health services they had access to. Longfield claimed the children had told her they would be more comfortable seeing someone in school, than going to see their GP.

She said: “They were going to the internet for information and had no clue whether that information was robust or not.”

Statistics show that around one in 10 children are believed to be affected by mental health problems, such as depression and eating disorders.

The Welsh government has already made it a requirement for local authorities to provide accessible school-based counselling services for children between 11-18, including pupils in Year 6 of primary school.

In March 2015, the Department for Education in England published its blueprint for counselling in schools saying: “Our strong expectation is that over time all schools should make counselling services available to their pupils.”

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has advised that mental health should not be regarded as a ’specialist’ problem but an issue which effects every school on a regular basis.

Russell Hobby, NAHT general secretary, said: “While there’s a better acknowledgement of the extent of mental illness among children and young people than ever before, the services that schools, families and children rely on are under pressure from rising demand, growing complexity and tight budgets.

“NAHT is campaigning on mental health, after our members called for this to be a key priority.

“Schools are only part of the picture though, and depend upon timely and effective support from experts outside the school gates. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services [CAMHS] need to be adequately funded.”