Covid: Mental health money for children's services

Money to support children and young people's mental health after the "disruption" of the pandemic has been cautiously welcomed.

It is part of a £500m pot for mental health services across the board, announced in November.

The government confirmed £79m would be allocated to support children in school and in the community.

Charities and campaigners said the pandemic had significantly impacted young people's mental health.

One in six young people are now estimated to have a mental health problem, according to Emma Thomas, head of charity Young Mind.

"Before Covid, we were looking at one in nine young people with a mental health diagnosable need," she said.

Ms Thomas warned against "medicalising" what are natural feelings of distress, saying school might be the appropriate place for many children, who don't need formal mental health treatment, to seek support.

She said it was "absolutely right" to boost mental health support in schools and the community.

But others, like the Children's Society, have condemned it as a "sticking plaster".

"Only about a third of children will receive support this way by April 2023," a spokesperson said.

"That still leaves millions of children without help which they need right now. Young people have been through so much in this last year and the government must explain what it is providing for the millions of children left behind."

And mental health services were struggling to meet demand even before Covid-19 hit," according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Saadia, an 18-year-old from Swansea and volunteer for the charity Mind, said the pandemic had been a "rollercoaster" for her.

"There's a lot of time when I feel very tired. I miss my friends. I miss being in that learning environment. There have been a lot of highs and lows".

Now in her first year of university, Saadia was able to get support for her mental health - though she's mindful not all schools and colleges have such good support teams.

"I relied on [school support services] - more than on my friends and family - because when I was younger I didn't feel able to open up.

"I was very fortunate to be in that place where the right services were around, but I'm aware not every school has that."

She says the funding announcement is "a big step forward", but hopes young people will keep being involved and consulted at all stages of the process.

Mind originally asked government for a £1bn investment in mental health - twice was what pledged.

The £79m should pay for more mental health support teams in schools and therapy in the community, including for eating disorders.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the money would be aimed at:

Community mental health care includes talking therapies, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) aimed at teaching people to change the way they think about and act on their problems.

Ben, who is 18 and from Cumbria, says he was also "very lucky" at his school.

While they didn't have a team of mental health support staff, teachers took on the role outside of their usual jobs to support students.

He says extra support and funding for both teachers and students is needed with demand for such services "growing all the time."

NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch said the pandemic had "turned our lives upside down and hit children and young people particularly hard".

She said NHS mental health services had been working "around the clock, proactively reaching out to and caring for children and young people despite challenging circumstances".

And as young people go back to school from Monday, Emma Thomas from the charity Young Minds called for their wellbeing to be prioritised as much as their need to catch up academically.

"It's a really unsettling time…they're going back into a school environment they haven't been in, to their social networks they haven't had, and many of them are uncertain about whether they'll have the support.

"Day one is just that first step," she said. "Let's take each step as it comes".