HARLOW MP Robert Halfon has commended a new report by Anne Longfield and the Commission on Young Lives on children’s mental health.

https://thecommissiononyounglives.co.uk/commission-on…/

The report highlights that the Covid pandemic was a catalyst for the mental health of many children. As Chair of the Education Select Committee, this highlights the key findings in our recent Catch-Up report that following the pandemic, 1 in 6 children aged 6-16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem, up from 1 in 9 in 2017.

Key recommendations in the report call for more support and preventative measures including:

A national implementation programme to embed a whole school and college approach to mental health and well-being across all education settings in the country.

A programme of drop in mental health hubs.

Well-being and mental health training and support for all professionals working with children and young people.

A commitment from the next Prime Minister on supporting mental health measures.

Mr Halfon said: “These recommendations echo my campaign to improve mental health for children by establishing a universal mental health assessment for children when they arrive at school to identify any problems earlier on before a crisis point is reached, and by speeding up the Government’s roll-out of Mental Health Support Teams in schools.

“I have also called for a social media levy on the big social media platforms who are causing poorer mental health in young people. Over 78% of Barnardo’s practitioners reported children aged 11-15 had accessed unsuitable or harmful content through social media and 1 in 3 girls are unhappy with the personal appearance by age 14.

“The funds secured through this levy could be distributed to schools to provide online harms training to ensure students have mental health resilience”.