mental health | Schools Week

Excluded children more likely to develop mental health conditions

Children who are excluded are more likely to develop a mental health condition than their peers who stay in mainstream, a leading researcher told the Mental Health in Education conference on Wednesday. “It won’t surprise anyone that children with mental health conditions, particularly the more disruptive ones – ADHD and conduct disorder – are more […]

No evidence for “no excuses” behaviour policies

Until there is evidence that “zero tolerance” behaviour policies work, schools should prioritise approaches that have proved successful, a professor of child psychiatry told the Mental Health in Education conference on Wednesday. “Whilst a lack of evidence is not evidence of lack, there is very little that suggests that those punitive measures are effective. But […]

Duchess of Cambridge: teachers need more mental health support

Teachers are essential frontline workers who need more mental health support, the Duchess of Cambridge told education leaders on Wednesday. “It is vital that we support teachers with their own wellbeing so that they can find the best level of care for all children, in their schools and communities in which they work,” she told […]

Update us annually on school mental health plan progress, MPs tell ministers

MPs want annual updates from the government on its plan to introduce new mental health support teams to work with schools. The recommendation, from the parliamentary public accounts committee, follows an admission from the government that the new teams of clinicians may not reach every school in England for a decade. Proposals for the new […]

New data on young people’s mental health now not ready until November

Schools will have to wait until the end of November to see brand new government data on the mental health of young people – information which hasn’t been updated for 14 years. The last research into the prevalence of mental health problems in children and young people in the UK was carried out in 2004 by […]

Set up ‘Teach First-style’ scheme for school mental health specialists, says report

A scheme modelled on Teach First should be set up in schools to train mental health specialists to work with young people, research has suggested. The training would involve learning how to manage problems that children face at school such as “bullying, exam stress and low moods”. Proposed in a new joint report from school […]

Why every school needs to learn how to handle ‘conduct disorder’

Schools have ineffective behaviour management strategies because they want a “quick fix” to a common disorder but don’t understand the neurology behind it. Some teachers don’t know how to manage “conduct disorder” – a mental condition which causes disruptive and sometimes violent behaviour in pupils – because they don’t know how to identify and respond […]

Rural LGBT teachers have worse mental health

Lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans teachers working in rural areas are nine times more likely to experience mental health issues related to their job than their peers in cities, research has shown. Forty-six per cent of LGBT+ teachers working in villages reported taking time off work due to anxiety or depression linked to their sexual […]

The mental health reforms must do more to support schools

The government’s plans to help children and young people’s mental health are welcome in spirit, writes Robert Halfon, but they don’t go nearly far enough in numerous serious ways Half of all mental health conditions first occur by the age of 14, and according to the most recent available data, one in 10 children have […]