These are just three statistics that exemplify the current mental health crisis that is sweeping the nation. The pandemic, a turbulent time which transformed life as we knew it, has taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of teenagers in the UK.
More worryingly, secondary schools are struggling to meet the needs of their students with mental health problems. 78% of young people stated that school made their mental health worse, whilst unfortunately, only 23% of school staff said they had regularly been able to access specialist support for pupils with mental health needs. These concerning statistics highlight the huge need for mental health support for teens in schools, and the lack of services available to them.
With budget cuts, a lack of training and funding, and the overwhelming rise in mental health problems amongst teenagers, schools and teachers especially are simply unable to cope single-handedly with the new mental health pandemic.
Dame Alice Owen’s School has been working with Year 12 students in order to support students in the lower school, introducing a new ‘Peer Mentoring’ scheme in which older students spend twenty minutes a week ‘walking and talking’ with a younger mentee. The school works on a prevention and early intervention basis which is key in the fight to reduce mental health illnesses, as 50% of mental health problems are established by the age of 14. Schools have a critical role to play as they are well placed to spot the early signs of poor mental health and emotional wellbeing. As part of the programme, the school offers all Year 7 students a mentor as they make the daunting transition to secondary school, with the hope that mentors can provide extra support for these new students as they navigate the first few challenging months of their new school.
The Peer Mentors undertake a specialist training day prior to working with a mentee, which teaches them techniques in order to improve their listening skills, safeguarding knowledge and how to build a sense of trust with their mentee in order to support them as best they can. As well as this, the training emphasises what barriers young people may face when asking for help with their mental health and how mentors can recognise and overcome these barriers in order to reduce the stigma around the subject of mental health.
Ms D Jones, the teacher running the scheme, who was also recently commended by staff and students for her ‘contribution to making students feel safe and supported’ by the school’s anti-bullying alliance, has emphasised the ‘huge difference’ made to the pupils working with mentors. She has said of the scheme: ‘I have seen first hand the power of working with young people to better understand their mental health and developing the skills to encourage positive wellbeing in themselves and others in our school community and beyond, throughout their lives. We currently have over 100 peer mentors in Y12 working with students in our school community’ and this exemplifies the huge impact being made to younger students within the school.
In addition, Ms Jones is also leading a Mental Health Peer Mentoring Course, developed by the school mental health organisation, Minds Ahead, which I attend weekly. The Level 2 qualification is aimed at Year 12 students wishing to develop their understanding of mental health in relation to young people, as well as their self leadership and communication skills. The 12 week course covers everything from what mental health is, how to spot the signs of anxiety and depression, how young people can be supported to improve their mental health and how to communicate with a mentee to address their needs as effectively as possible.
The skills and understanding acquired are then put into practice as the Year 12 students mentor younger members of the school community during the week, working more closely with particular members of the community who are already starting to exhibit signs of declining mental health. This can only be described as an excellent school initiative that will continue to go from strength to strength to provide the much needed additional support to those struggling with issues. In fact, the work mentors have been doing at Owen’s has been recognised by the national adolescent mental health organisation ‘Worth It’. Dame Alice Owen’s is now a spotlight school for ‘Worth It’ due to the quality and quantity of their mentoring. I am extremely proud to attend a school which has taken these initiatives and is doing their utmost to remove the stigma surrounding mental health in order to ameliorate the wellbeing of students in the community.
One thing I have learnt from the course is if you are experiencing difficulties with your mental health, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. Support is available, and having someone to talk to confidentially, in a safe space with no judgement can make a huge difference.
Some services that that provide free support for teenage mental health include:
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/ – Young Minds is the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
https://www.themix.org.uk/ – the Mix offers online information as well as helpline support to under-25s about anything that is troubling them.
https://www.childline.org.uk/ Childline is a service for those under 19 to confidentially call, chat online or email about any problem.
Alternatively, text SHOUT to 85258 for free, 24/7 text support for young people across the UK experiencing a mental health crisis.
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