We must act over terrifying rise of the self-harm generation

CHILDREN are harming themselves in record numbers because the Government no longer monitors their “wellbeing” at school, said a leading charity last night.

Lucie Russell, campaigns director of mental health charity Youngminds, said the decision to scrap separate Ofsted inspection reports on pastoral care and wellbeing puts every child at risk.

“Now inspections are all about qualifications,” she said.

“The current ministers mocked how children used to be taught about ‘resilience’, but education is also about developing adults with healthy minds, not just a string of qualifications.”

She said the number of children self-harming has doubled in a decade. Mental health problems have also increased dramatically, to the point where one if five young people have an eating disorder, from anorexia and bulimia to obesity.

She continued: “Self harm, in whatever form, is often dismissed as attention-seeking behaviour but it’s a sign that young people are feeling terrible internal pain and are not coping.”

The number of young people who self-harm so badly that they need to be admitted to hospital has rocketed by 68 per cent, from 22,555 in 2002 to 37,932 in 2011. Last year alone there was a 10 per cent increase in hospital admissions for self-harmers under 25.

Young girls are by far the most vulnerable group, with a 77 per cent increase in the numbers who had hurt themselves so badly that they needed a stay in hospital to cope with their injuries.

Hayley, now 15, has suffered from anorexia, bulimia and depression since she was 11.

She spent five and a half months in a private eating disorder unit, including nine weeks in hospital being force fed through a tube.

She said: “I was bullied quite severely at school, the boys called me names and said why didn’t I just go and slit my wrists.

“I was going to my Dad’s wedding and I wanted to lose weight as I had no self-esteem and I’d always thought I was fat. I started missing breakfast and pretending I was eating during the day and then my best friend went on a diet and I went even further.

“I would not be hungry at night after eating nothing all day and I started looking at eating disorder websites and doing excessive exercise classes I saw on the internet.

“Later that year I was diagnosed with anorexia.

“I was put on an eating plan and regained my periods, which made me panic as I realised I had reached a healthy weight.

“I stopped eating again and was admitted to hospital and fed through a tube as the thought of food disgusted me.

“It was during this stay that I was diagnosed with depression and given Prozac.” After gaining