Study: More UK Schools Hiring Mental Health Professionals for Students

The number of primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom that employ mental health professionals for students has increased, a study revealed. The study was conducted by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and Place2Be, a UK-based charitable institution for mental health. Participants included 653 school leaders who answered a poll about how much they understand children’s mental health issues. They were also asked about the effectiveness of the government’s mental health services and whether their institutions hired private practitioners, such as counselors, to address students’ mental health concerns. Findings showed that the awareness of school leaders about children’s mental health issues has improved. However, the services provided by the government to address these issues continue to be inadequate. Only 4% of the participants said that the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) is responsive to schools’ request for mental health assistance. In addition, only 5% believe that children who are being referred to the NHS receive proper support. Because of this, several schools have invested in hiring their own in-house mental health providers. NAHT’s general secretary, Paul Whiteman, commended schools’ initiative to compensate for the deficiencies in government support. However, he also acknowledged that the situation is compelling schools to stretch their limited resources as hiring school-based professionals is not included in their budgets. Catherine Roche, Place2Be’s chief executive officer, said that schools should not face the issue of insufficient mental health support for children alone. Instead, schools should seek expert advice from NHS when addressing more serious mental health needs of students.