The more we learn about mental health, the more we understand the fundamental importance of the early years in a child’s development. Behind every single child are the staff who support them in nurseries and schools, each day, every day.
As chair of the Anna Freud Centre, the children’s mental health charity, we are very focused on providing training and support to young people. Our Patron, the Duchess of Cambridge, is doing ground-breaking work on the early years. In June, she launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which was developed with expert guidance from our Centre.
As we approach World Mental Health Day, it’s worth honing in on the mental health of our children and young people and the staff that work with them. In a survey carried out this year by the Anna Freud Centre, 42 per cent of staff said they had noticed signs that children in their care had their emotional wellbeing affected by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Another survey of nursery staff showed that 50 per cent said they felt unwell from work-related stress over the past year, whilst 66% responded that the pandemic had negatively impacted their wellbeing and mental health.
That is why next week we are holding a webinar aimed at promoting wellbeing for staff working in nurseries, to which all those with an interest in attending are most welcome.
Why are we doing this?
Staff who work with young children invariably love their jobs. They make an enormous contribution to the social, educational and cognitive development of children. But they are often unsung heroes, lagging behind other sectors when it comes to pay and recognition.
We have the empirical evidence to highlight the psychological importance of early years. Whilst as many as 1 in 6 children and young people have a probable mental health disorder, 50 per cent of mental health problems are established by age 14.
The survey we published earlier this year of over 900 UK nursery staff, was accompanied by a report, Their challenges are our challenges. It found that 69 per cent of nursey staff had worked with babies or children affected by trauma or abuse; 71 per cent had worked with babies and children affected by domestic violence; and 60 per cent had worked with babies and children from families affected by substance use.
These pressures take their toll, and Covid has exacerbated the situation. Add to this the low level of pay – itself linked to mental health problems - and the sense that many staff feel under-appreciated and you can see why there is a need to support our early years workers.
As the Duchess of Cambridge writes in the Foreword to the Royal Foundation’s report, “Big Change Starts Small”: 'Nurtured children are the consequence of nurturing adults. So to invest in children means also investing in the people around them — the parents, carers, grandparents, early years workforce and more.'
So what can nurseries and early years settings do? The research carried out by the Anna Freud Centre, alongside five local authorities and the NDNA identified four key areas. They are:
- Supporting each other
- Supportive management
- The physical environment
- Outside support
Very often it’s the simple things that can make the biggest difference: having your work recognised or being appreciated. Sometimes it’s about having a clear policy on staff mental wellbeing, a policy which can be co-produced with staff themselves. Sometimes it’s making sure that people know where to go to for help. Clear signposting in a setting is a mark of recognition that early years workers face pressures and if they need support they should be able to do so by talking to their line managers or someone outside the setting.
One early years’ leader questioned in the Anna Freud research said that they wanted to provide 'more information and how to be open and honest about mental health. People to talk to each other about how they are feeling. Staff also listening to each other. Practising empathising. I have a culture of "just survive it" from before I started. I want to change it to improve…I want staff to thrive.'
That’s what our children need: staff who are thriving and can always give the best for the babies and young children they work with. Our under-appreciated and often-overlooked nursery workers deserve this, and we owe it to them to magnify our efforts to support their mental health needs.
- World Mental Health Day is on 10 October