As nine out of 10 school staff feel that children’s education is suffering due to a lack of mental health support, what can be done to better support the next generation?

In research conducted by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), it was found that nine out of 10 school staff felt that children and young people’s education is suffering due to a lack of mental health support.

Surveying school staff in England, 64% of respondents shared that they felt their school didn’t offer enough mental health support to students. Furthermore, while 95% of respondents who worked at schools offering counselling to students reported that demand for these services had increased since the pandemic, just 12% shared that funding had increased, and 20% said that it had actually decreased.

Simon Grieves is the headteacher at Chapel-en-le-Frith High School, in Derbyshire, and this trend is something that he has seen first-hand.

"As we recover from the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in demand for counselling and at the same time it has become harder to access mental health support outside of school,” Simon shares. “We strongly believe that having easily accessible counselling available in school supports good mental wellbeing. It helps more students continue to access school who might otherwise refuse or opt for elective home education.

"Good mental health supports good progress in lessons and ultimately good examination outcomes. In my view, every child should have access to counselling in school, in the same way that every child has a statutory right to career support. Funding to make this possible should be provided.”

In the survey, 96% of respondents reported that they believe funding for mental health provisions for students should come from the government, and 89% said that additional funding for mental health provisions in schools should be ringfenced, meaning that schools can buy in services.

Currently, many schools in England are forced to use alternative methods to pay for counselling services, with 44% of respondents sharing that their school funds the counselling with the money that comes from pupil premium, and 22% shared that it is funded by the Covid-19 catch-up premium.

In response to this, the BACP is campaigning for the government to fund a paid school counsellor in every secondary school, academy, and further education college in England – England currently being the only country in the UK not to have adopted this model.

“It’s horrifying to see the impact that lack of mental health support is having on children and young people's lives, education and future prospects,” Jo Holmes, BACP’s children, young people and families lead, said.

“Schools are facing an immensely difficult situation as they desperately try to meet the mental health needs of their students, often on a shoestring budget. Our survey shows that nearly all schools that offer counselling are facing a rise in demand for these services since the start of the pandemic. It’

What can we do when our news feeds are filled with tragedy?

Worldwide tragedies feel like they’re happening more and more these days. This is likely thanks to social media, 24/7 news broadcasting and the Internet in general which has the power to update us on traumatic events unfolding in real-time.

While scrolling on TikTok yesterday (an app I typically use for lighthearted, funny content) a live news segment interrupted my feed, discussing a school shooting in Texas. This morning many of us have woken up to the terrible news that 19 children and two adults have been killed.

I don’t have children, I don’t live in America, but of course this doesn’t stop news like this affecting me. We don’t have to be close to a situation to understand the impact.

Following Covid, many of us have been left feeling almost hypervigilant, more attuned to bad/scary/worrying news than before. This can make dealing with a world tragedy even more difficult, even if we aren’t directly affected.

So what can we do when we witness tragedy, injustice and traumatic events?

Let yourself feel your feelings

Give yourself a little space to acknowledge how you’re feeling. Let the tears come, let the anger rise. If you can, pour this out in a healthy way - perhaps writing in a journal or talking it through with a loved one. When we bury negative emotions, they can bubble up when we least expect it.

Zoom in

Once you’ve had some space to feel your feelings, zoom in to where you are right now. Notice where you are, who you’re with, what’s around you. Hopefully you are somewhere safe, so remind yourself of this. Say to yourself “I am safe” and focus on breathing (try this breathing technique). Sometimes when we witness tragedy, our brain reacts as if we’re there, so it’s important to ground ourselves in the present to reiterate that we’re OK.

Zoom out

Now it’s time to zoom out and consider all the good that’s happening in both your world, and the wider world. When bad news floods our feeds, it’s easy to be consumed by it. Take some time to step back and recognise what brilliant things are happening in your life right now to help you tap into gratitude. Then try to expand this to acknowledge the wonderful things happening worldwide to help develop optimism, search for positive news stories online and see what comes up.

Remember you can hold both grief and hope

We are complex beings and can hold complex emotions. If you’ve managed to find a sense of gratitude, optimism and hope by doing the above, remember this is OK. You can still feel grief at the tragedy, you still care. This life isn’t black or white, it’s a rainbow of emotions and we can feel a range at any one time.

Take action

Often when we learn about worldwide tragedies we can feel angry, angry at the injustice of it all. Something that can help this is to take action. This may be by donating to charities to support those affected, giving blood, signing petitions or even spreading the word about the cause. Feeling like you’re doi