Ten-year plan for mental health must help young people bounce back from pandemic

The Commission on Young Lives report in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health, is clear that the system has been at crisis point for years. With children and young people's mental health and wellbeing issues continuing to rise rapidly as we emerge from the pandemic, the current system is cracking under the pressure.

We have seen this first hand through our services at Barnardo’s. In April 2020, seven in 10 of our frontline staff reported an increase in mental health issues among the children, young people and parents they worked with. Within a year, this had increased to nine in 10. The impact on children is clear. In January this year, over three-quarters (76 per cent) of our workers who support children who have not re-engaged with school have identified unmet mental health and wellbeing needs as a primary reason for them being out of school.