Survey reveals ‘almost all’ school staff have seen worsening issues among their pupils
Teachers are witnessing worsening anxiety and mental health issues among children in their classrooms, according to a new survey.
Ninety five percent of staff have witnessed a decline in the mental health of children, according to a survey carried out jointly by The National Association of Headteachers Cymru (NAHT Cymru) and Place2be.
NAHT Cymru is calling on the Welsh Government to increase the capacity of social care, health and other services to meet growing demand and to reduce waiting times.
For children, the combination of stress to achieve in exams, the return to a normal routine and the social pressures of growing up means going back to school following the pandemic has been tough for many young people across Wales.
Kerina Hanson, President of NAHT Cymru says there was no easy solution to addressing young people’s mental health needs.
“It’s a complex picture out there,” she said. “And it’s not going to be solved easily by saying to schools you can have one extra teaching assistant.
“It’s a long-term issue and I don’t think we’ve seen the worse of it yet. I think things are going to keep building over the next few years.”
Siobhan Parry, Head of Services for the charity Platform which provides one-to-one support for children and families said: “Since the pandemic young people have missed being around young people and the chance to be young.”
Last year, the Welsh Government committed an extra £9 million pounds to support children and young people. Last week they published a toolkit called Hwb with links to websites, apps and helplines to support young people with their mental health.