Mental health support in schools priority for young people

Improving mental health support in schools is the top priority for young people at the next election, a new three-year study has revealed.

Speakers Trust, the charity focused on providing public speaking and oracy skills in secondary state schools, has met with over 100,000 young people over three years and asked them what matters most to them.

The results show that 31% (one third) of people surveyed between 18-19 (the voting age at the next election) said the priority at the next election was for more mental health support in school.

The study of 100,000 pupils showed that 34% of pupils surveyed now reported symptoms of a mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.

The study found that in schools 40% of young people who require mental health support are from lower-income backgrounds and are part of the Government’s Pupil Premium scheme or who have special SEND status.

Over one in ten (12 %) pupils said more money needs to be provided to special education needs and disabilities pupils (SEND).

Exclusive data from Young Minds – a charity that were part of carrying out the survey – also found more than 70% of young people had sought mental health support in the last two years.

Nearly one-third of 16–24-year-olds in the UK (31%) have reported some evidence of depression or anxiety. Statistics from the charity Young Minds reveal that one in six children aged five to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem. On average, the charity found that more than 70% of young people had sought mental health support in the last two years.

However, the Centre for Young Lives think tank found that half of pupils in England — four million children — will still not have access to mental health support teams (MHSTs) in their schools under current plans.  According to the Centre for Mental Health, children and young people with mental health difficulties go an average of 10 years between becoming unwell and getting help.

The results, however, come just days after the Government announced that people with depression or anxiety could lose access to sickness benefits, following plans to change personal independence payments (Pip), the main disability benefit for adults, through changes to eligibility criteria and assessments.
 
Chief Executive of the Speakers Trust, Russell Findlay, said with half of mental health issues developing by age 14, better support is vital in school to help equip them once they leave school and enter the workforce. The study shows that 34% of young people now reported symptoms of a mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder – with one in 20 people young people now out of work due to ill health.