Press release: February 2024
Children and young people more worried than ever
about going to school
Nearly three in ten teenagers avoid going to school or college so as not to feel anxious;
among young people with mental health difficulties the proportion rises to half
Failed promises to improve access to evidence-based mental health interventions post-pandemic have contributed to shocking levels of school absenteeism across the UK, says youth mental health charity stem4.
One young person told stem4. “During the Covid lockdowns I was stuck in the house like everyone else, but I felt isolated, depressed and alone, with no help or support to overcome my problems. When I returned to school, I thought things would improve, they didn’t. I still can’t get help and I now feel anxious, depressed and alone all of the time. The only place I feel safe is in my room.”
Today, nearly half (48%) of 12-to-18 year-olds say they are in mental health distress, In turn, half of that cohort (25% of all young people) say that over the past 12 months they have avoided going to school or college so as not to feel symptoms of anxiety. Just 15% of these young people in need of support say they are receiving professional mental health support or a therapeutic intervention.1
Government data for the school year 2022-23 shows that:
in England, more than a fifth (22.3%) of pupils missed at least 10% of school days, a rise from 10.9% in 2018/193 ;
in Wales,18.1% of pupils missed 30.5 days or more of school 4 ;
in Scotland, 22.75% of pupils missed 10% or more of their sessions5 ;
in Northern Ireland, figures for 2020-21 (the most recent available) indicate that almost 10% of school days were missed by pupils, compared to 6% in 2018-196.
Amidst rising government concern over the latest absence figures, Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, advised parents that, since long periods of absence can make symptoms worse4, children with mild and moderate anxiety are likely to be better off attending school than missing it. More recently, the government announced investment in attendance hubs and attendance mentors to help schools tackle absence problems over the next three years.
As stem4 points out, parents are not in fact unwilling to send their children to school. Nor do parents fail to recognise the need to support their children in facing their fears. The problem is rather that parents, like schools, do not command the mental health strategies, skills, or financial resources required to help young people in managing their anxiety and overcoming their intense fears about attending school.
In a survey of 1,025 children and young people conducted by stem4, nearly three in ten (28%) 12-to-18 year-olds say that over the past 12 months they have avoided going to school or college so as not to feel anxious. This figure rises to exactly half (50.2%) in the 48% of young people who have mental health difficulties such as anxiety (38%), depression (22%), body image difficulties (22%), eating disorders (11%), and who self-harm (11%) or have behavioural problems (8%). These vulnerable young people say they avoided going to school because they felt unable to cope. Just over one in ten (13%) young people with no mental health difficulties avoided going to school or college so as not to feel anxious.
A 14 year old girl, said. “Last year I started to feel really anxious and depressed. I was referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services by the school. I was told by a nurse I wasn’t ill enough to get medical help. Things then got worse and worse until I couldn’t face going into school. I said I would rather die than go back to that school and face all of those bullies, but still there was no help. Eventually I got added to the SEN register following a private diagnosis of Autism, still no help. After 8 months of missed school my parents borrowed money, paid for me to see a clinical psychologist who helps me overcome my fears, and sent me to a private school who are able to provide me with the emotional and learning support I need. I’ve now been in school for four whole weeks.”
In a survey of 2,012 parents (they all have at least one child aged 12-18 living at home) over half (55%) say at least one of their children (20%) is experiencing mental health difficulties, of which only three in ten (31%) are able to access the mental health treatment they need.
One parent said: “We have been desperately trying to get mental health treatment for my eldest daughter. In the ten months she’s been on a waiting list, she’s left sixth form, even though she got 9 A*s for GCSE. No one seems to care.”
Another added: “My son has been referred to the children’s mental health services several times. The first time we waited over 2 years, and he was discharged after one meeting. The second time we waited 7 months for an initial appointment, and we’ve been waiting six months for a follow-up appointment. Lack of access isn’t just affecting my son, it impacts the whole family. He’s too afraid to go to school and I feel completely isolated.”
Despite recent government announcements of increased investment in education and NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, many parents and carers say they are yet to feel the benefit. Their day-to-day anxieties continue to mount, and topping their list of worries are:
D accessing health and mental health services (56%);
a paying bills (43%);
p ensuring their children attend school (42%);
e keeping their family safe from digital harm (38%), and
putting food on the table (29%).
This all means that eight in ten (82%) parents and carers say they feel overwhelmed, isolated from friends, family, and unable to cope. 30% experience these feelings most or all of the time.
These surveys by youth mental health charity stem41 were commissioned to mark the launch of two new workbooks designed to help children and young people tackle emotionally based school avoidance. Drawing on the evidence-based principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), the workbooks, combined with stem4’s free Clear Fear app, teach multiple ways of managing the symptoms related to anxiety. Laying out a phased, staged approach for children and young people to follow, the workbook can help them overcome the emotional barriers that are stopping them from attending school. At the same time, the workbook, together with the Clear Fear app, provides parents, carers and schools with support ideas and the evidence-based strategies to adopt to help these children and young people go to school and remain there.
Why are children and young people across the UK more worried than ever about going to school?
A large majority (79%) of 12-18 year-olds say that over the past 12 months they have missed school days for reasons other than physical illness. One in three (28%) say their absence was due to mental health problems; one in four (24%) to family difficulties, and nearly one in five (18%) because of bullying or friendship issues. Meanwhile, over one in ten (14%) students say they have been unable to attend school because they were hungry, or because they couldn’t afford the journey to and from school, had taken a paid job, or needed to assume caring duties in the home. Over eight in ten young people say they are forced to avoid certain situations in and around school so as not to feel anxious. These result from unhealthy friendships (28%), contact with bullies (26%), academic pressures due to lost work in the pandemic (19%), contact with teachers they don’t get on with (17%), and a negative and hostile school culture (13%).
Although investment has increased in both school-based mental health and in NHS mental health services for children and young people, demand for treatment continues to outstrip supply.
Today, nearly half (48%) of 12-to-18 year-olds say they are in mental health distress, and nearly four in ten (38%) of all students at secondary school or college say they are experiencing symptoms of anxiety1. Less than half of the young people surveyed say their school or college provides any support in facing anxiety directly and trying to overcome it. Just 15% of the young people in need of mental health support say they are receiving professional treatment.
With so many children and young people struggling to access effective mental health treatment, stem4 is committed to providing students, parents and teachers in secondary schools and colleges with a range of effective, evidence-based tools. The charity delivers school workshops and lesson plans suitable for PHSE in schools, and has developed five NHS-approved smartphone apps, all based on evidence-based strategies, as an aid for young people who are receiving treatment or recovering from their mental health difficulties, or who are unable to access any support. These apps, including Clear Fear for anxiety, have collectively been downloaded and used over 2 million times.
Dr Nihara Krause MBE, consultant clinical psychologist, CEO, and founder of youth mental health charity, stem4, commented:
“What this survey shows is that a quarter of young people are missing school because of their mental health difficulties, and few can access adequate mental health support through the NHS, school or college. Only 38% of state-funded schools have school-based mental health support teams. Where schools offer counselling, demand is so great that students can wait up to three months to be seen. Moreover a third of the children and young people referred to NHS services will fail to receive treatment.6
“Existing children and young people’s mental health policies were formulated prior to the pandemic. What we now need as a matter of urgency is a comprehensive mental health review and strategy that is reflective of current levels of unmet need. The NHS does not have the infrastructure or capacity to provide effective treatments for certain mild-to-moderate mental health conditions. If we want to reduce these stubbornly high absence figures, then we need urgent access to evidence-based mental health treatments in schools, together with the provision of self-support tools, and training for parents/carers and educational professionals. They need to understand how they can support certain conditions, especially anxiety disorders, and at what point referrals should be escalated to NHS mental health services.”
“The concept of resilience is about equipping people with effective ways to learn to deal with adversity. The young generation of today are currently facing multiple adversities. These include long Covid and trauma from the pandemic, poverty, increasing online harms, a lack of access to specialist assessments and evidenced based treatments for neurodiverse issues such as autism, ADHD or dyslexia, and not being able to access effective treatments for physical and mental health difficulties.”
Why stem4 is calling for policies to help young people deal with mental health symptoms rather than feel that avoidance is the only way to manage them
To help young people experiencing difficulties, stem4 is campaigning for support to empower young people, educators, and parents/carers in acquiring an enhanced understanding of anxiety and anxiety disorders. It emphasises the value in seeking early evidence-based support to pre-empt avoidance behaviours, and of early intervention by CBT specialists in schools and colleges. As a matter of urgency, stem4 is calling for:
Clear guidance on strategies schools and colleges can implement, and parents and carers can adopt at home.
Clear guidance for the prompt assessment of undiagnosed special educational needs (SEN) such as autism, ADHD or dyslexia.
A buddy system in each educational establishment to help support young people who may find social situations difficult.
The establishment of drop-in community family hubs, acknowledging the need for support to counter the impact of anxiety disorders on families.
A comprehensive system of mental health support teams in schools with access to specialist psychological support.
NOTES TO EDITORS
References
1. Survey of 1,025 regionally representative young people in the UK aged from 12 to 21 carried out by Survey Goo between 21 & 27 December 2023
2. Survey of 2,012 regionally representative parents (with children aged from 0 to 18 living in the family home, of which at least one child is between 12 and 18) carried out in January 2024.
3. https://explore-education-
4. https://www.gov.wales/
5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
For a full copy of the survey findings, press release, and expert comment from Dr Nihara Krause MBE, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, CEO of stem4, please contact:
SENSO Communications
Penny Lukats, 07775 992350, mailto:penny@
About stem4
stem4 is an award-winning charity that supports teenagers with their mental health. It provides evidence-based education, builds resilience, enhances motivation to change, and provides signposts to ensure early intervention and action. stem4 focuses on commonly occurring mental health issues in teenagers including eating disorders, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and addiction.
The charity works with students, parents and teachers in secondary schools and colleges, and with health professionals such as GPs and school nurses through its conference programme and through its digitally delivered workshops suitable for PHSE in schools. stem4 is also included in the Royal College of GP toolkit.
■ stem4’s free, evidence-based, smartphone apps
With children and young people experiencing difficulty and long waiting times in accessing effective treatments, stem4 has developed four NHS-approved smartphone apps, all based on evidence-based strategies, to help young people in the treatment of and recovery from their mental health difficulties. These apps have been downloaded and used over 2 million times. These apps include:
– Clear Fear, which uses the evidence-based treatment Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to help manage the symptoms of anxiety;
– Calm Harm, which uses the basic principles of an evidence-based therapy, Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to help manage the urge to self-harm;
– Move Mood, which uses Behavioural Activation Therapy to help improve low mood and manage the symptoms of depression;
– Combined Minds, which uses a Strengths-Based approach that has been shown to be effective in recovery, providing practical strategies for families and friends to support teenage mental health,
– Worth Warrior, which uses the principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E) to overcome issues of negative body image, low self-worth, and related early-stage eating difficulties or disorders.