More must be done to support children’s mental health in schools, a charity has said after it emerged that mental and emotional wellbeing was the top reason for children seeking help from Childline last year.
Childline delivered 105,000 counselling sessions in 2022/23 where the child’s main concern was mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
The NSPCC, which runs the service, said 31,000 of the counselling sessions on mental health were about stress and anxiety.
More than 14,000 children were counselled about low mood and unhappiness, it added.
Some 6,397 children contacted the service to ask about accessing support and services for mental health.
The service was contacted 6,389 times from children experiencing depression and 5,109 counselling sessions focussed on loneliness.
The children’s charity said mental and emotional health and wellbeing was the top reason children contacted the service in 2022/23, accounting for over half of the counselling sessions delivered by the service.
The NSPCC is calling on the Government to commit to funding and delivering mental health support teams across all schools and colleges in order to reach every pupil and student who needs help.
The charity said the target of access for 50% of pupils by April 2025 “lacks the sense of urgency needed”.
