The financial pressures on state schools, public and private schools have become so enormous that this is putting extreme pressure on the Governors, teachers and most importantly the children.
It’s no secret that low level disruption, burnout, anxiety, absence and mental health problems affecting staff and pupils alike are on the rise.
An Education Support Partnership (ESP) survey suggested 84% of teachers have suffered from mental health problems at some point over the last two years. A report by the Children’s Commissioner for England also found that 580,000 young people – equivalent to the population of the city of Manchester – are receiving some form of social care or assistance with mental health problems.
Statistics show that one in 10 children – an average of three in every classroom – has a diagnosable mental health problem, and that 75% of mental health problems in adults have their roots in childhood. At the chalk face, teachers will be teaching children who have anxiety, depression and phobias, and a scary number of children now self-harm as a result of bullying being on the rise. Worse still, these disorders now manifest at earlier ages.
With 84% of teachers suffering with their own mental health issues how can we expect them to be effective when they too are struggling and are overwhelmed?
How can we stop teachers and young people suffering mental health problems in the first place? I believe the answer is simple, equip them with the knowledge and skills to be in charge of their own wellbeing.
My STAY ON KEY programme equips them to do just that