Schools need to do more to help pupils with their mental health
- 27 May
After surveying education leaders and young people campaigners have said that schools must do more to help and support pupils with their mental health.
Oxford Mental Health Forum has said that school should have regular talks on mental health and increase training and resources for schools. They also said that more printed material is needed for pupils and counselling should be available throughout the county.
The forum's online survey received responses from 15 schools, 300 youngsters aged 16 to 25, 44 professionals and 21 parents or carers. They found that all schools offered pastoral guidance and advice with 88% able to provide one to one counselling. However, 35% provide printed material and 24% host sessions outside of school hours for carers and parents, reports the Oxford Mail.
The report said: "Overall, schools feel they do not have enough resources to be able to provide appropriate information and support to young people on mental health."
The report also found that 16% of young people had or were not sure if they had been given information on mental health and 70% of parents and carers had worries about their child's mental health.
Sue Croft, principal of Oxford Spires Academy, East Oxford, said: "I think schools could do with more help. Mental health is a really serious barrier to a small but very significant group of students who don't sufficiently progress as a result. It is a massive shift in the right direction. It is one of the best investments anybody has had in terms of mental health."
Sarah Breton, lead commiss-ioner for children, young people and maternity services at Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: " We worked closely with the authors of this report and welcome its findings. Good emotional support for young people in schools is very important and we - the authority and NHS - are committed to ensuring information and help is easily available, up-to-date and meets the needs of young people across the county."
What do you think of this? Tweet us your comments @suppsolutions
Related articles
- 11 Sep
People in Bedfordshire can find mental health support through an audio guide
The guides have been written by clinical psychologists and are available to download in print or listen to as an audio file, reports Bedfordshire News.Dr Judy Baxter, Clinical Director with BCCG and...
- 10 Sep
Police officers in Dorset to receive mental health training
The partnership with the University comes as part of the county’s Mental Health Street Triage Project. It is hoped to equip officers with improved knowledge and skills to assess members of the...
- 09 Sep
People in Peterborough can refer themselves for mental health services
Through a drive to offer support to more people and ease pressure on doctors, people living in Peterborough can self-refer themselves to mental health services, reports Peterborough Today.Dr Adrian...
- 08 Sep
The first mental health centre for men
The site has been set up by Alex Eaton, whose dad took his own life and has suffered with mental health problems himself, in Burton upon Trent, reports BBC Newsbeat.Mr Eaton said: "We are the only...
- 07 Sep
NHS trust told no mental health beds available
Dr Bohdan Solomka has said that on Sunday a lack of beds were applied across the NHS and among private providers, reports the BBC. The director of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trusts...
- 07 Sep
Over 16,000 mental health referrals for young people have been rejected
Between July last year and June this year, data from the NHS has found that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services rejected 5,396 referrals, reports STV News.Over the last three years 16,565...
- 04 Sep
New mental health centre to open in Ardwick
Plans to build a new £6m treatment and recovery centre in Manchester have been revealed. It will be built in Ardwick and be run by Alternative Futures Group, reports the Manchester Evening...
- 03 Sep
Research finds more chance of re-offending if mental health issues are present
Research has found that ex-prisoners with mental health problems and drug and alcohol misuse are more likely to commit violent offences after release than other former prisoners, reports the...
- 02 Sep
Drop in the number of people with mental health issues held in cells
Recent figures have found that the Crisis Care Concordat has seen over 10,000 people receive care from mental health nurses with the support from police officers, reports the Burton Mail.Figures have...
- 02 Sep
Mental health social work scheme accepting applications
100 places are now available for applicants who have a 2:1 or above undergraduate degree and can demonstrate attributes such as resilience and empathy, reports Community Care.The Think Ahead...
Responding to the DWP Consultation: Housing Benefit Reform - Supported Housing "It was well-run, in a good location, and very useful. I've only one suggestion; as the session went on it would perhaps have been useful for bullet points of general agreement about what should be in the sector response to be displayed and added to as the session went on, maybe on a flip chart. Regarding your response paper, I particularly like the answer you give to question 9. In fact the general: "if it ain't broke don't fix it" response could be pushed harder." M.P. - Adref Ltd
