£5m to help tackle children’s anxiety
THE Welsh Government has today announced a £3.75m investment in mental health in schools, specifically aimed at helping younger children.
The Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, and Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, announced the £3.75m of funding that will include new support for children under the age of 11.
The announcement coincides with the start of Mental Health Awareness Week.
The Welsh Government said that school counselling services currently provide direct support to young people from the age of 11, or Year 6, up to the age of 18. It said the funding announced today will extend support to provide mental and emotional support to children younger than Year 6.
Around 11,500 young people each year access lower-level mental health support, outside specialist NHS provision, in schools and community counselling services.
£450,000 will also go towards supporting mental health and well-being of the school workforce.
The Welsh Government is working with partners to develop further plans on how that support will be delivered.
The funding is in addition to £1.25m announced by the Education Minister last month, for local authorities to
deliver counselling services in schools, taking the total support to £5m.
Kirsty Williams said: “The coronavirus is inevitably causing additional anxiety for people of all ages, not least children and young people. We must therefore anticipate increased demand for mental health support among younger people.
“We know that by tackling problems early you can stop them escalating. Although serious mental health issues are less prevalent among younger children, we’re extending the support available so that children under 11 can also receive support with their emotional well-being, if they need it.
“We know traditional face-to-face counselling is not necessarily appropriate for younger children, who may lack the maturity to explain and understand the issues which concern them. Instead specialist therapies, such as those based on play and working with the wider family, are much more effective and we will work with providers to develop these services as part of our wider wholeschool approach.”
Vaughan Gething added: “With the necessary restrictions on young people’s lives due to coronavirus, including less time with their friends and other family members, we must be prepared for an impact on children’s emotional wellbeing.
“So it’s important we continue to invest in mental health support for our young people during these very difficult times.”
The announcement of the Welsh Government funding comes after a new poll found that parents are “deeply worried” about the mental health of their children as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
A significant proportion of parents have said they are concerned about their child’s mental health during the unprecedented period.
Issues youngsters are facing include: anxiety and depression, a sense of loss and fear, difficulties coping with a lack of structure and routine, increased isolation, and young people missing face-to-face contact with friends, charity YoungMinds said.
Many parents and carers also expressed concerns about how their children would cope as they “transition back to normal”.
The charity’s survey of 1,854 parents and carers from across the UK found 67% said they were concerned about the long-term impact of the coronavirus on their child’s mental health.
This rose to 77% among parents and carers whose children had required mental health support in the previous three months.
Emma Thomas, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: “The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest health crisis for generations.
“The pandemic has also turned the lives of millions of children and young people upside down.
“Many young people are finding it hard to cope with isolation, a loss of routine, anxiety about the future, a disruption to their education, and in some cases, difficult or traumatic experiences at home.
“Despite huge efforts from mental health professionals, young people with existing mental health needs often can’t get the same level of support as they had before the crisis.
“As our survey shows, many parents and carers are deeply worried about the impact on the young people in their care, and don’t know where to turn for support.”
In addition, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned that health services could be overwhelmed by a “tsunami” of referrals when coronavirus lockdown measures end.
A survey by the College found almost half (45%) of psychiatrists had seen a reduction in routine appointments, leading to fears that patients were avoiding support until they reach crisis point.
Meanwhile, 43% of psychiatrists had seen an increase in their urgent and emergency caseloads, where patients were showing the most serious conditions.
Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: “We are already seeing the devastating impact of Covid-19 on mental health with more people in crisis.
“But we are just as worried about the people who need help now but aren’t getting it.
“Our fear is that the lockdown is storing up problems which could then lead to a tsunami of referrals.”
POORER families are less likely to want to send their children back to school amid the Covid-19 pandemic, despite these pupils having fewer opportunities for home learning, a survey suggests.
Children from better-off households are spending an additional 75 minutes a day on educational activities than their peers from the poorest households during the lockdown, research has found.
Pupils from the wealthiest families will have done seven full school days’ worth of extra home learning by June 1, when more pupils could return to school, according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report.
If children do not go back to school until September, the gap between the most affluent and the poorest pupils will double to three school weeks, the study warns.
Fewer than half of parents said they would be willing to send their children back to school if they had the choice, but the higher-income families are more keen for a return to school than lower-income families.
The report from the IFS warns: “This risks a situation where the children struggling the most to cope with home learning remain at home while their better-off classmates are back in the classroom.”
The findings come after ministers and teaching unions were told to “stop squabbling” and agree on a plan for a phased re-opening of primary schools from June 1.
Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, said many children were struggling away from the classroom, and the lack of education would have an impact on their future life chances.
The new analysis from the IFS has found that children from more disadvantaged families are spending less time on activities that may be particularly beneficial, such as online classes and with private tutors, and they have fewer educational resources and parental support for home learning.
Researchers have called on the Government to address the disparities between children from different backgrounds during school closures, as they warn the crisis is likely to widen attainment gaps.
A survey, of more than 4,000 parents, found that higherincome families are much more likely than their less well-off peers to report that their child’s school provides interactive resources for learning. Nearly two in three (64%) secondary pupils in state schools from the richest households are offered some form of active help, compared with 47% from the poorest fifth of families, the poll suggests.