Pupil wellbeing is becoming an increasingly significant worry. Reports of declining mental health have been plaguing the news with frightening regularity in the past few years, and in July, Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told the Observer that a combination of funding cuts and exam pressure has resulted in physical education being squeezed – to the detriment of pupils’ mental health as much as their physical health.
In 2017, YoungMinds, a charity that fights tirelessly for better resources and support for young people with mental health difficulties, launched its ‘Wise Up’ campaign as a response to the de-centring of wellbeing in education. (In 2013, a UN study ranked the UK 24th out of the 29 countries for educational wellbeing.) YoungMinds’ mission statement is to call on the government ‘to rebalance the education system so that the wellbeing of students is as important as academic achievement’, and it works to achieve this by lobbying the government and increasing awareness.
In its campaign report, YoungMinds argues that schools that are ‘already having to make tough decisions about which services to cut are not incentivised to direct resources towards wellbeing provision’. NHS services are shockingly oversaturated, with professional help often coming with a long waiting lists or being geographically inaccessible – and many teachers have reported not knowing whom to approach for such support.
The YoungMinds’ campaign report is not the only in-depth report or study; in February 2017, as part of Children's Mental Health Week, the National Federation of Head Teachers’ Associations (NAHT) conducted a survey along with Place2Be, a children's mental health charity that offers in-school support and training for emotional wellbeing. The survey was carried out among 1,115 school leaders from across England and Wales, with the intent of finding out just how much of a concern pupil wellbeing is.
It found that over half of head teachers find it difficult to source mental health services for pupils, with 22% of those who attempt it reporting their findings as unsuccessful. One head teacher says: ‘There are not enough professionals to meet school needs across the country.’
As for recent changes and risks to pupil health, 93% of head teachers say that pupils bring more worries to school than they did five years ago, while 96% say that pupils’ ability to learn is negatively affected by these worries. The stats are no less worrying for primary schools: 97% of primary school leaders say that ‘people underestimate the level of mental health problems among school children’, while only two fifths feel confident that their staff could respond to a pupil's mental health crisis.
Brighter future
These figures are worrying and while they paint a morbid picture, they are probably unsurprising to most teachers. But there is hope: the NAHT offers a wealth of resources online, including guidance on teaching online safety in school, supporting pupils who have a family member in prison, as well as updates on government legislation and responses to consultations.
Place2Be also offers in-depth training programmes and in-school counselling services that are designed for early intervention – particularly for children from low-income families.
Hub4leaders recommends a whole-school approach to pupil health, and has wellbeing baked into the foundations of its framework. According to the website, it ‘normalises conversations about mental health, enabling people to speak out sooner if they are struggling or worried about someone else’ – although this can be difficult within schools that lack resources to educate staff and pupils on different mental issues.
YoungMinds has stated in its manifesto that it is calling on the government to rebalance the education system, ‘so that the wellbeing of students is considered as important as academic attainment’ – and indeed, voting and calling the government to action is the most effective means of protest or demonstration. Preventing mental health issues in the first place is key, according to YoungMinds, and therefore it is essential that the curriculum is formed around the wellbeing of students.
In this difficult time of funding and staff cuts, it can be tricky to know what to look out for in a troubled or struggling pupil, and where to turn for help. Of course, teachers themselves are not immune to mental health difficulties: more than ever, they feel pressured to support pupils in reaching escalating attainment targets. As well as reaching out to your union or staff body for support when finding help or resources for your pupils, it is more vital than ever to ensure your own wellbeing is looked after. In the meantime, do read the resources available online, or speak to a colleague about local services.
