CYP Now - Increasing numbers of girls with mental illness risk being missed by schools, experts warn

Schools may only be identifying “a fraction” of young people, particularly girls, in need of mental health support due to inadequate detection methods and a lack of training for staff, researchers have warned.

Girls are going to greater lengths to hide feelings of unhappiness, research shows. Picture: Adobe Stock

Tools widely used in secondary schools such as online surveys and chat hubs, to identify vulnerable students “fail to spot those who may be showing early signs of self-harm, bullying, anxiety and unhealthy self-control,” according to Simon Antwis, Steer Education’s senior education consultant and a former head teacher and school inspector.

While these tools are useful for identifying need for support in students presenting with more obvious signs of mental illness, those who are “keeping their worries and fears to themselves” may not be recognised by staff, he adds.

Antwis’s comments come as a report from Steer Education and school mental health specialist Minds Ahead finds that girls aged 11 are now 30 per cent more likely to suffer from poor mental health than boys of the same age.

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