Radio Aire teams up with union to reveal true scale of support in schools

Radio Aire’s teaming up with one of the country's biggest unions to get a true picture of what mental health support is available in our schools.

The GMB has written to hundreds of head teachers across Leeds asking if their pupils have access to a counsellor - as our Problem Shared campaign calls for every school to have one.

We launched the campaign with the mum of 15-year-old Daniel Long from Morley who tragically took his own life through exam stress in February last year.

“Emma came to address our school support staff and young members and we whole-heartedly support this campaign,” says Sarah Barnes, the GMB’s lead organiser for schools and academies in Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

“It had a massive effect on our staff. We can’t begin to understand what Emma and Daniel’s friends and other family are going through, so it affected us deeply. My daughter’s going through SATs at the moment so I know what sort of pressure there is. And we know that children are suffering.”

Head teachers are being asked to provide information about whether their school has a counsellor, how much time they spend there, and whether the pupils know about the support available to them.

It comes as the government is pledging to spend an extra £300m on improving children and young people’s mental health support, including plans to make sure a member of staff in every school has been trained in mental health ‘first aid’.

But earlier this month, MPs from the education and health and social care committee criticised the green paper saying it will “provide no help for the majority of those children who desperately need it.”

The report claims the speed of delivery means the support will only reach a fifth to a quarter of the country by 2022-23.

“The government’s current proposals are simply not good enough,” says Sarah.

“There are hundreds of thousands of children under pressure with these exams. We want it to happen sooner and for a fully qualified counsellor in every school.

“Our members are being asked to go on a one-day mental health course and support children in schools and that’s not their responsibility. Of course they support children, but they’re not qualified counsellors.

“The feedback that we’re getting from our members is that they’re seeing increasing numbers of children under immense pressure, self-harming, being in tears, especially around exam time. We don’t think that’s how it should be for children of that age.”

In a statement, the government says its planned changes will transform mental health services for children and young people, with significant additional resources for all schools

You can sign our Problem Shared petition here.