Priority call as one-third of Welsh pupils have a mental health issue

ONE in three Welsh schoolchildren have a mental health issue, a Welsh Assembly Committee has warned.

Tackling rising emotional and mental health issues among children and young people must be made a national priority by the Welsh Government, the Children, Young People and Education Committee said.

Committee chairman Lynne Neagle AM said: “It is estimated that one in three children in every averagesized classroom will have a mental health issue.

“By the age of 14, half of all mental health problems will have already begun.

“To stem the flow, a major step change is needed in the priority given to supporting the emotional resilience and well-being of children and young people in Wales.

“The time has come to put mind over matter and deliver appropriate, timely and effective emotional support for our children and young people.”

As part of its inquiry into the emotional and mental health of children and young people in Wales, those working in the sector warned that some young people were not getting the help they need and called for a stronger emphasis on early intervention.

This includes calls for mental health to be embedded in Wales’ new curriculum and ensuring schools work with other services to reduce stigma associated with mental ill-health.

In a statement, members of the committee said: “The distress suffered by many children could be reduced or even avoided by enabling them to draw on the right support at the right time, in schools and in primary care across Wales.”

Among a raft of recommendations the committee is calling on the Welsh Government to:

■ Provide adequate and ringfenced resources for schools to become community hubs of crosssector and cross-professional support for emotional resilience and mental well-being.

■ Ensure emotional and mental health is embedded in the new curriculum.

■ Ensure that everyone who cares, volunteers or works with children and young people is trained in emotional and mental health awareness in order to tackle stigma and promote good mental health.

The committee warned improvements and investment in specialist children and adolescent mental health services since 2014 do not go far enough and called on the Welsh Government to make “urgent improvements”.

Lynne Neagle said: “We make one important recommendation – preventative and early intervention support needs urgent attention and should be a stated national priority for the Welsh Government.

“Failure to deliver at this end of the pathway will lead to our children and young people suffering unnecessary distress.

“As it stands, the pieces of the jigsaw that need to be in place to enable children and young people to be supported outside the most specialist settings simply do not exist.

“This is unacceptable and must be addressed urgently by the Welsh Government.”

The committee made 27 other recommendations in its report, including calls for the Welsh Government to review the numerous emotional and mental well-being initiatives in Wales’ schools, with a view to recommending a national approach based on best practice.