John says Mental Health is a “Rapidly rising crisis in our education system”

John Healey MP has called on the government to act on the mental health crisis facing schools.

It follows a letter he received from a local student concerned about recent changes to GCSEs and the impact they are having on student stress levels ahead of the exams this week.

John says: “The stress of exams combined with confusion about the government’s education reforms means young people are feeling pressure more than ever.”

“Staff are also finding it hard to deal with an increasing workload and when they do eventually reach out for help the problem is often already at crisis level”

“It is clear to see that more needs to be done to deal with this rapidly rising crisis in our education system.”

A recent study by the National Education Union said around two thirds of education staff have seen a major increase in the support that their schools are providing to young people with mental health problems.

The Education Support Partnership also says it dealt with over eight and a half thousand cases in Yorkshire between April 2017 and March 2018 – a 38 per cent increase in education staff getting in touch via its helpline for emotional support.