Union leader says ministers 'bear responsibility' for children's mental health problems
2 min read
Ministers must "bear some responsibility" for poor mental health among young people, the head of the largest teaching union has said.
The general secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted, said changes to the curriculum and "impossible" testing standards had left youngsters "demoralised and disillusioned".
She argued that problems were compounded by a lack of easily available mental health support for young people.
But the Government said they had allocated £300m of funding to support young people with mental health difficulties.
Ms Bousted's comments followed an NEU survey of 730 education staff in which 56% said they knew pupils who had self-harmed, while 45% knew of children with eating disorders.
Almost half of the 287 secondary school staff surveyed said they knew pupils who were suicidal.
“The constant pressure for pupils to reach impossible standards, and the constant tinkering with the curriculum, leaves them feeling demoralised and disillusioned by education,” Ms Bousted said.
“The government must bear some responsibility for the huge amount of stress so many children are under, and for the hollowing out of crucial local support services. This has placed an unacceptable strain on education professionals who have to pick up the pieces when these vulnerable children hit crisis.
“The government must also bear responsibility for the problems schools and colleges have accessing services, such as CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), which have been hit by funding cuts. The proposals in the government’s mental health green paper are too little, too late to have a meaningful impact on the current situation.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“We want all young people to grow up feeling confident about themselves and able to get the right mental health support when they need it. That is why we outlined £300m of funding in the children and young people’s mental health green paper which will provide significant additional resources for early mental health intervention for all schools.
“In order for pupils to be successful, rigorous examinations are vital. They are not, however, intended to cause significant anxiety. We are helping schools to spot mental health problems and respond in the right way by offering mental health first aid training for a member of staff in every secondary school.”
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