Mental Health: Shocking stats show Govt are failing young people

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Ahead of Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson’s Bill to introduce mental health professionals into schools, statistics show that 61% of those waiting for mental health support had stopped attending school, college, university, or work. 

• 58% missed more than two weeks of school, 42% missed more than a month and 20% missed more than six months

• A fifth of young people wait more than six months for help. While waiting, 41% said that their mental health got worse

These statistics show the catastrophic impact the lack of mental health provision is having on young people’s lives in both schools and in the workplace, leaving over half unable to attend.

In response, the Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP will be introducing a bill to the Commons today which intends to give all state schools access to a qualified mental health professional.

Ahead of the introduction of the bill, the Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: 

“This Conservative Government has failed time and again to tackle the crisis in mental health services for children and young people. Children and young people in England who have a probable mental health disorder are not getting the help they need and deserve. 

“Children waiting for mental health support often don’t go to school and that will be affecting their educational outcomes and life chances, often leaving their condition to get worse. That is just wrong.    

“My Bill will help to tackle this issue by requiring every school to have access to a qualified mental health professional funded by the Government, helping young people get the support they need, working to achieve early intervention before issues escalate.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

The data can be found here 

The M&S and YoungMinds research was conducted by Savanta who polled 2,056 16-24s that self-selected they had experienced mental health issues. The poll was conducted between the 28 August and the 7 September 2023.  Savanta is a member of the Market Research Society and British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

The Bill

• The formal title of the Bill is Schools (Mental Health Professionals) Bill. 

• The Bill will create a duty for the governing body of a state funded school to provide access to a qualified mental health practitioner or a school counsellor.  

• The Bill defines a ‘state funded school’ as a school wholly or mainly by funded from public funds. 

• The Bill defines a mental health practitioner as a person with a graduate-level or post-graduate level qualification accredited by Health Education England 

• The Bill allows for schools with 100 or fewer pupils to share access to a mental health practitioner or school councillor between several similarly classified schools. 

• The Bill places a duty on the Secretary of State for Education to provide or make arrangements for the provision of financial assistance to governing bodies so that they may satisfy the new duty placed on them. 

• The Bill extends to England and Wales only.