6 Te Modern Family Education & Schooling


believes schools need to focus on fun. “I’ve been banging this drum for as long as I can remember,” she says, “and I’ll keep on banging it because the mental health crisis impacting children is spiralling out of control.” NHS data shows one in six children


Wellbeing first W


hen it comes to education, teenage mental health specialist Clare Cogan


aged six to 16 had a probable mental health problem in 2021. Te figures were alarming even before the pandemic, with a rate of one in nine children in 2017. And in May this year 413,106 people were in contact with children and young people’s mental health services. Clare believes pastoral care and extracurricular activities are vital to children’s wellbeing and the impact of not having them will result in an even bigger mental health crisis. “Te way to motivate kids to learn,”


explains Clare, “is to build feel-good chemicals in their brains by engaging them in things like forest school, lunch clubs, sport and other activities with friends. Young people need different experiences to build neural pathways, to find out what they like and don’t like — and to build self-esteem. Tey need encouragement to do these things now more than ever.”


Promotional Content • Saturday 2 September 2023


School leaders say a mental health cash injection is needed now more than ever. Words: Rhiane Kirkby


Clinic psychologist, Aisling


Bunting, who has worked in schools in the UK and Tailand agrees. “Te impact of extracurricular activities cannot be underestimated. When you see children addressing global issues such as reducing plastic waste, or being involved in community projects, it’s huge. Tey feel a real sense of their place in the world and it gives them a leg-up in life.” For this generation of children


impacted by the pandemic and growing up in the glare of social media, there is also a growing need for pastoral care in schools. “It’s important for every child to have access to an adult who is tuned into them, who can help them make sense of their feelings and offer guidance and support”, says Aisling. “Teachers are already doing so much; they need this extra support.” Schools across the country are


reporting an increase in anxiety, among even the youngest children. “It starts so young”, explains Louise Watts*, a primary school head. “Children today are tech savvy, they see things online and they’re not able to deal with it. Social media puts so much pressure on them; they become self-conscious and anxious and there’s no escape from it.”


A child reading at a nursery school in Darlington PHOTOGRAPH: ALAMY And yet, despite the resounding


call from those in education for ring-fenced budgets for non-educational support and services, a survey of 11,000 school leaders in England found almost half would be forced to make cuts to these provisions. Since then, the government has pledged additional funding, with £3.9 billion being allocated in the 2023/24 academic year and the NHS is investing record funding in children and young people’s mental health services. Tose in charge of school


budgets, however, say this isn’t anywhere near enough. “What we really need”, explains,


Evelyn Forde MBE, headteacher at Copthall School, “is for the government to recognise that external provisions like the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) can’t bear the weight of what’s happening in schools. Te waiting list for young people is a year, sometimes more. We need funding that is ring-fenced for mental health and wellbeing in schools. Te crisis among young people


isn’t going away. Skilled clinicians with resources would be part of the silver bullet that would get schools back to where they need to be.” Tose in education say that despite


rising energy, food, and staffing costs, they’ll do all they can to keep pastoral support and enrichment activities going. “We see the value in these things over anything else,” says Louise. “If children walk into school and they’re not in a good place, they are not going to progress. Wellbeing first, education next.” *Real name has been changed


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