Pupils as young as four are suffering from depression

‘In crisis before they can get help’

INFANTS as young as four are suffering from symptoms of depression and anxiety, a shocking survey has revealed.

Pupils in primary schools are experiencing eating disorders, self-harming, panic attacks and even considering suicide amid an ‘upswing’ in problems.

Teachers warn that mental health issues, bullying and sexual harassment such as sexting have become a ‘daily fact of life’ for many children. One in seven say mental health cases now involve youngsters aged four to seven and more than a quarter point to ailing seven to 11-year-olds.

Mental health concerns among teenagers have been the subject of concern for years amid the rise of social media and a growing obsession with celebrities’ lives.

However, the NASUWT teaching union research suggests that problems such as depression are developing at ever younger ages. In one case, a teacher described how an eight- year- old pupil climbed on to a roof and said they wanted to kill themselves.

Others warned that social media is emotionally damaging youngsters, with pupils of 11 and 12 sending explicit pictures. Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said children are ‘addicted to technology and to introspection’ adding: ‘This is a symptom of our society today and the malevolent influence of social media sites.’ Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said that teachers have ‘ never before’ had to deal with such a ‘complex range’ of welfare issues.

Members warn they are being ‘left to pick up the pieces’ of ‘totally inadequate provision’ to support growing numbers of youngsters. The union surveyed 1,359 teachers and found that 96 per cent say they have seen pupils of all ages with mental health problems.

Of these, 92 per cent said students suffered anxiety or panic attacks; 80 per cent said they had depression; 67 per cent said youngsters were self-harming; 49 per cent cited eating disorders and 45 per cent said pupils had obsessive compulsive disorder. One in seven said pupils with these difficulties were between four and seven, while over a quarter said they were seven to 11. The age group that teachers were most likely to say had been affected were 11- to 16-year- olds (68 per cent). One per cent said that even children under four had issues.

Staff said the top three contributory factors were: family problems (86 per cent); pressure of the exam system (66 per cent) and social media (64 per cent).

Delegates at the NASUWT annual conference in Birmingham voted to urge the Government to include mental health training as part of initial teacher training. Rebecca Thompson, a special educational needs coordinator teacher from Bournemouth, told the conference on Saturday: ‘Thresholds at CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services) are so high, we have to wait until children are in crisis before they can access help.’

Top primary schools are ‘beasting’ pupils in the three R’s to boost results and avoid inspections, Ofst- ed’s national director of education claims. Sean Harford said some outstanding schools had an excessive focus on English and maths – the only subjects scored and tested at the end of Key Stage Two. He likened this to the military practice ‘beasting’, whereby new recruits are subjected to harsh treatment to instil discipline.