Leeds teacher warns kids as young as six 'overwhelmed' at school
It comes as we call for every school to have a counsellor
Last updated 24th Nov 2017
A Leeds teacher is backing Radio Aire’s campaign for every school to have a counsellor – warning our children are coming under ‘immense’ pressure on a daily basis.
“The assessments start right from when they’re starting nursery school at three,” warns primary school teacher Claire*.
“The pressure, it just never ends. The determination for results to be improved all the time means that we’re pushing kids and pushing kids, and it can mean they end up being very, very stressed and very overwhelmed, even from six and seven years old.”
Claire’s spoken to us as we team up with the family of Morley pupil Daniel Long, who took his own life to escape the stress of his GCSEs.
Her teenage daughter is working towards her GCSEs in May, and says she’s not surprised children are developing problems with anxiety and depression:
“There are revision sessions every night after school. February half term there are revision sessions. The Easter holidays we can’t go anywhere because she has to be in school for more revision sessions.
“The pressure we put our children under is immense, and it’s just a constant battle to get across that exams are important but your mental health is more important.
“I won’t deny that I shed a lot of tears (for Daniel). To think that any child could feel that exams were putting so much pressure on them that life is not worth continuing with…it’s just beyond comprehension.”
The National Education Union agrees that schools are becoming like ‘overloaded electrical sockets’.
“I think any measure or approach which seeks to address the situation in schools with regard to mental health is to be applauded, and is absolutely something we would welcome and encourage,” says Richard Raftery, local officer for Leeds NEU.
“As a union we have many, many concerns at the moment about what is being done in schools, because they are now very target-driven institutions.”
Daniel’s mum Emma is now looking to go into schools to share his story with students, and encourage them to seek help if they’re struggling. She’s started by going into his old school, Bruntcliffe Academy, to talk to year 11s sitting their mock exams
A Government spokesperson said: “We want all children to have good mental health and fulfil their potential. The new national funding formula – backed up by £1.3bn extra funding for schools - will help schools to build on that success.
“To provide further support we are offering mental health first aid training to every secondary school, giving staff the confidence to support pupils with mental health issues. We are also investing £1.4bn in children’s mental health services, with strengthened links between mental health staff and schools to ensure children receive support when they need it.
*We’ve changed Claire’s name to protect her identity