Read: Strengthen mental health support services to help the most vulnerable children

Last week the Government delivered on its commitment to set out a plan to ensure that our education system offers opportunity for all, alongside its wider programme to level up the country.

Significantly, the White Paper acknowledged that mental as well as physical wellbeing is essential if children are to benefit from their time at school. It drives their attainment, behaviour and attendance although they can all, in turn, also be impacted by it. So it is welcome news that in addition to the money the Government is already investing in specialist mental health support for children and young people, it is accelerating the introduction of Mental Health Support Teams that provide extra capacity for early support and advising school staff. It has also restated its pledge that every school will have the opportunity to access funded training for a senior mental health lead.

There is a growing body of evidence that the mental health of children and young people is worse than it has ever been. The pandemic and the subsequent closure of schools and other social environments removed the normal parameters of their lives for two years. For many younger children, that represented a huge proportion of their school life so far. For older children, it came at a crucial time, with GCSEs and A Levels badly disrupted and with all the implications for their further education and careers. It has had a huge effect on their confidence and self-esteem as well as their ability to socialise at an important time in their development. The return to school, and to ‘the new normal’, has not necessarily seen a return to pre-pandemic levels of mental health issues.   

The situation is now being compounded by the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. Decisions about whether to heat or eat will directly impact many families’ lives and schools will undoubtedly become involved in the practical challenges associated with this. As with the pandemic, children and young people can bear the brunt of the anxiety and anger that exists at home in the face of events that are often beyond the control of their parents. They absorb the stress that is felt at home, even if they do not always understand it. Sadly, some also witness or experience domestic violence directly as a result.

There is also now likely to be a significant – and largely unforeseen – increase in the number of refugee children in our schools. Many of these have experienced traumatic events in their own countries and perilous journeys to get here. They arrive with little or no English, few possessions and separated from even their closest family members. Many of the children from families evacuated from Afghanistan last year are still living in unsuitable and overcrowded temporary accommodation, not able to properly integrate into their new communities.

The children arriving in the UK from Ukraine will face similar challenges. Currently, almost 23,000 family visas have been issued to Ukrainian families and there are over 28,000 applications to the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Once here, the families will be able to access healthcare, welfare and schools, services which will all be hugely impacted by these extraordinary numbers. It is certain that the demand for mental health services will rise as a result.

Even before this, current estimates showed that one and a half million children and teenagers will need new or additional support for their mental health over the next three to five years. The Centre for Mental Health reports that on average there is a 10-year delay between young people displaying first symptoms and getting help. This is a crisis in its own right and, in the light of the challenges the country is currently facing, these figures are likely to rise over the coming months.

Schools cannot shoulder the burden alone but it is crucial that they are able to play their part in providing the right mental health support, particularly for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Although the steps announced in the White Paper are positive ones, they need to be part of a much longer-term solution which is properly funded and strategically linked with other agencies to provide the strength and breadth of help that is required. We have also seen the willingness of businesses to step up to the mark over the last couple of years. It is critical that they look again at what more they can do in collaboration with local partners to tackle the current perfect storm of mental health challenges that children and young people are facing.

Seema Kennedy OBE, Levelling Up Goals Co-Chair; former Minister for Public Health, Home Office Minister, and the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary