According to a survey published by children’s charity Place2Be, hundreds of school leaders say they have had difficulties helping their students with mental health.
The research showed that while 84 per cent of secondary schools and 56 per cent of primary schools offered some form of counselling services for students, almost half said that a lack of local services and knowing what support is appropriate hindered their provision of support.
Christian secondary school teacher from London, Ekaete Olowu, said schools need to work harder on the issue.
She told Premier News Hour: “It’s part of your job as an educator to care for the entire wellbeing of a child. It’s not just the academic subject you’re teaching them.
“We need to do it on a holistic level. Especially because [children] spend so much time at school, we can often become almost parent number two if not the main adult they go to if they have an issue.”
Nine in ten respondents reported that funding issues limited the provision of mental health support at their schools. Mental health services are funded by 93 per cent of schools who responded to the survey.
Olowu said a lack of time is also a factor for teachers.
“Unless you have a genuine care to want to help that child, if can be difficult if somebody comes to you and you’ve got lessons to plan and you’ve got books to mark,” she said.
“If there was more time,…
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