Partnership working to develop student teachers’ awareness of mental health and wellbeing in schools

The extent and growing problem of mental health issues faced by pupils of all ages in our schools over the past decade is well documented (Weale, 2019). Recent research indicates that one in 10 children are experiencing significant mental health problems, with two in five young people scoring above thresholds for emotional problems, conduct issues or hyperactivity. For some particularly vulnerable groups, such as pupils with additional learning needs or those from deprived backgrounds, the scale of mental health problems may be even higher, estimated at one in eight pupils affected (Deighton et al., 2019). The increasing scale and severity of mental health problems faced by pupils in our schools has highlighted a number of key related issues. The first is the inadequate funding and resources for existing services faced with growing demand – only six per cent of the NHS budget is spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) – and in the past two years these servic