More than a third of teachers have received no training in supporting pupils with the impact of mental ill health - despite fears of a growing mental health “crisis” among children - according to survey findings published today.
Just 34 per cent of state school teachers surveyed by the NEU teaching union had received training in the past year, while 36 per cent said they had never received any.
Teachers in primary schools were least likely to have received training in the past year (30 per cent), while those in special schools or pupil referral units were the most likely (43 per cent), according to the poll of 1,788 union members.
More than half of those responding to the survey (53 per cent) also said that the number of students and pupils in their school with socialisation difficulties or poor mental health had increased greatly compared to before the pandemic.
The findings chime with research from children’s charity the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) last year, which found that half of UK teachers do not feel confident helping pupils with their mental health.
They also come amid warnings of a rising “mental health crisis” among children and concern that existing government interventions are insufficient.
The NEU also said there was concern from their members that the mental health training they had received was not good enough.
Talking about the training they had received, one member said: “It wasn’t a very helpful training session and lots of staff left feeling confused and as though we still couldn’t support effectively.”
Another added: “There is a mental health crisis emerging among primary school children. There is almost no support from outside/government services and children are left unsupported and teachers have nowhere to turn.”
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said staff were “crying out for help”, and that the education system faced a mental health challenge on a scale that had “never” been experienced before.
She said: “A decade of austerity and cuts to specialist support services has left the system buckling under the strain.
“Nothing is normal in schools now. Pupils in every year group are finding it difficult to make the adjustment back to school life. Many are highly anxious, and some find it extremely difficult to re-enter school society.”
Dr Bousted added that the government was “not up to” dealing with the situation.
“Boris Johnson’s failure to properly fund education recovery, and to refuse to listen to the profession, betrays his lack of commitment to young people”, she added.
The NEU’s survey was conducted online and received 1,788 responses from English state-school teachers between 24 February and 8 March.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are supporting teachers to help children and young people to recover from the emotional impact of the pandemic, including by offering training to senior mental health leads in every state school and college by 2025.
“Since applications opened in October 2021, over 8,000 eligible schools and colleges have applied for a grant.
“On top of this we’re continuing to rollout mental health support teams alongside our ambitious recovery plan, worth nearly £5 billon, which will deliver high quality tutoring, world class training for teachers and early years practitioners, additional funding for schools, and extend time in colleges by 40 hours a year.”
