PM's plans to give mental health training to every new teacher a 'sticking plaster', claims union
Dan Parton
Monday, June 17, 2019
A pledge by the Prime Minister to train every new teacher to spot the signs of poor mental health in pupils have been cautiously welcomed by the sector - with calls for a stronger focus on prevention.
Prime Minister Theresa May today unveiled her "prevention plan" which she said will be backed by updated statutory guidance to make clear schools' responsibilities to protect children's mental wellbeing.
Under the plan, there will be access to teaching and training materials for all teachers for use in classrooms.
In addition, there will be support for school mental health leads so they can help children experiencing self-harm and at risk of suicide.
May said tackling mental illness was a "personal priority", adding it was time to rethink the issue.
"I believe the next great revolution in mental health should be in prevention," she said.
However, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: "The aspiration to train school staff to spot signs of mental illness among pupils is welcome, but it will amount to little more than a sticking plaster."
May should prove her intentions are genuine with a cross-government strategy on tackling poverty and inequality, Bousted added.
She continued: "Schools need strong pastoral systems, but teachers cannot cover for the cuts to mental health specialists.
"Recognising the early signs is important, but timely routes to appropriate professional treatment is essential."
Bousted claimed that long waiting times for treatment are so high that children and young people "have to threaten or attempt suicide" before accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
"School leaders are deeply anxious that real-term cuts mean they must let go counsellors and parental engagement posts," she added.
"The growing problem of child mental health illness must be tackled by much greater capacity in specialist service, matched with the reversal of cuts to school budgets."
The children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield said that in her view teachers "don't have that much trouble spotting" emerging health problems in pupils, adding that "they have trouble finding anyone to treat them".
"I have called for a long time for a CAMHS professional to be available in every school," she added.
Children's charities gave a similar response, with Action for Children's director of policy and campaigns Imran Hussain agreeing that the announcement, while welcome, lacked the "urgent pace and ambition" needed.
"Government plans now need to go further and take a more joined-up approach to supporting children from their earliest years, with adequate funding and targeted support to stop a generation of children from suffering mental health issues in the future."
Emma Thomas, chief executive of mental health charity YoungMinds, said: "We know from young people we work with how difficult it can be to access mental health support, and with demand rising there is still a very long way to go," she said.
"That's why it's crucial that the next Prime Minister builds on the commitments made by Theresa May and continues to make mental health a top priority."
The government said the announcement comes ahead of new national awareness campaign called Every Mind Matters, which will be launched in October.
In addition, from 2020 parents will also get access through the campaign to targeted advice on how to deal with issues like stress, online bullying and self-harm.
