For the sake of children’s mental health, we must reform our school system

We are letting our children down in every classroom in this country. Rather than childhood being an idyllic, carefree time, for many of Britain’s young people it is a time defined by emotional and mental health struggle. Let’s be clear, we are not talking about traditional childhood tantrums or teenage angst. We are talking about real levels of suffering.

The Good Childhood Report 2021 found that 306,000 ten to 15-year-olds in the UK are unhappy with their lives – citing school and appearance as particular causes of unhappiness. In 2018-19, almost a quarter of 17-year-olds reported having self-harmed in the previous year, and 7% reported having self-harmed with suicidal intent at some point in their lives. These are not empty threats. Suicide was the leading cause of death for males and females aged between five and 34 in 2019.

The youth mental health crisis continues to grow, spreading more misery as it does. Last year, one in six children aged five to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem. This is a significant increase from one in nine children in 2017 and equates to five children in every classroom. The latest NHS figures show 420,314 under-18s are being cared for by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) or are waiting to see a specialist, having been assessed as needing help against treatment thresholds. Some waiting lists are as long as three years.

Yet, this figure is artificially low, as many young people are not even making it onto the waiting list. A survey of GPs published in April found that half of respondents said CAMHS were rejecting more than half of the referrals they made of under-18s suffering from anxiety, depression, conduct disorder and self-harm because their symptoms were not seen as severe enough. Those excluded include children who have attempted suicide or have eating disorders.

While the failure to treat children whose lives are blighted by mental health issues is an indictment of our country, the lack of any kind of effort to find out the causes of or reverse the rise in the numbers of children suffering is surely unforgivable. What is it about Britain’s society and culture that is resulting in so many deeply unhappy children? Is it something specific to our way of life?

Unicef report cards on child wellbeing in rich countries consistently place the UK near the bottom regarding the life satisfaction of 15-year-olds. The unhappiness seems to be linked to children’s experience of school, with children in England amongst the most unhappy with school life, due in part to bullying and exclusion from their peer group. Happiness levels drop significantly once children start secondary school, with 43% of secondary school pupils saying that they are unhappy. 96% of young people surveyed across England reported that their mental health had affected their schoolwork at some point.

I think the time has come for us to examine whether our current school system is doing huge damage to children and young people. If we look at the other group of people who spend their time in schools – school staff – we see a similarly stressed group. Education Support, a charity that gives mental health support to education professionals, reports that nearly three-quarters of teachers and 84% of school leaders now describe themselves as “stressed” and more than a third of education professionals have experienced a mental health issue in the past academic year. Almost half (49%) believe their workplace is having a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing. If the environment is bad for adults, isn’t it likely to be negative for children too?

A survey of parents by Parentkind revealed that parents are concerned about a range of mental health and wellbeing-related issues. The top five concerns for parents are: exam stress (55%), anxiety (54%), homework-related stress (49%) and bullying (49%). Even at primary school level, almost a third of parents say their child has experienced homework stress (30%) and anxiety issues. More than one in ten primary parents report that their child has experienced depression. With all these indications of a generation of children with poor mental health, would you not expect us to be putting all our resources into making schools into a positive environment?

It has long been a fear of teachers and parents alike that school examinations have a detrimental effect on students’ mental wellbeing and that pressures upon schools to get good exam results are forcing schools to offer a more limited education, as they start prepping pupils at younger and younger ages for tests, cutting subjects traditionally seen as positive for mental health like the arts as a result.

For the sake of young people’s mental health, it is clear that we have a duty to reform the system. Wouldn’t a system that nurtured children’s interests, fostered a love of learning and prioritised children’s wellbeing not only benefit the children, but the county as a whole as well, as resilient, mentally well children are more likely to grow into well-adjusted adults who are able to be good employees in the future? Surely that makes economic sense too.