Learn how our mental health support services make a difference to children and young people's lives in Scotland.

In Scotland, almost 1 in 5 children aged 5 to 7 are likely to be experiencing mental health difficulties, rising to 1 in 4 children aged 8 to 11. Difficulties peak in adolescence, with nearly a third of 13 and 15 year olds classified as having moderate or severe anxiety.

Poverty is strongly linked to poor mental health too, with the proportion of children aged under 11 experiencing mental health difficulties triple that in high-income households.

This is having an impact on learning in schools: persistent absence is up, teachers report more dysregulated pupil behaviour, and teacher stress is rising as a result. 

To address these issues, our in-school mental health services are more important than ever. Here’s how we’re making a difference in Scotland.

On this page, you can find out about:

• our reach in Scotland
• our impact in Scotland
• our future in Scotland.

To learn more about what work we do in Scotland, take a look at the Our work in Scotland page.

Our impact in Scotland's school communities

As part of our in-school mental health service, we offer one-to-one sessions with a trained counsellor to pupils struggling to cope. Our mental health professionals provide integrative support in these sessions, mixing different therapy techniques to help children and young people cope with their problems.

After children and young people have one-to-one counselling with Place2Be in Scotland:

• 73% of those with severe difficulties show an improvement in mental health
• 60% of children's difficulties had less impact on their learning
• 60% saw an improvement in classroom behaviour
• 79% find it easier to have and keep friends

Of the children and young people benefiting from one-to-one counselling with Place2Be in Scotland:

• 43% lived in the 20% most deprived communities (SIMD20)
• 3% were the subject of a child protection order (CPO)
• 13% were reported to be on a CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) waiting list.

To help build confidence and knowledge about mental health in schools:

• 223 school leaders across 19 local authorities have taken part in our Senior Mental Health Leads programme in Scotland, helping them develop a whole-school approach to mental health that benefits all members of their school community
• over 11,000  teachers and school staff have taken part in our Mental Health Champions - Foundation programme
• 152 student teachers were supported with 420 reflective practice sessions in the 2023-24 academic year through our Initial Teacher Education partnerships
• 96 education and social work professionals signed up to take part in 18 multi-disciplinary reflective practice groups in Glasgow, Dundee and Falkirk, delivered in 2023 and 2024 as part of our Promise Partnership-funded project.
• 425 school staff were supported through Scottish Government-funded Place2Think reflective supervision during the pandemic. Following the sessions, 88% of staff said they were confident in managing their own health and wellbeing. Read the full evaluation of the impact of Place2Think.

Our future in Scotland

Our reach and impact statistics showcase how we are helping some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Scotland. Our mission is to improve children and young people's mental health, and we will continue to grow our work in Scotland to help us achieve this. Our priorities in Scotland include:

• increasing the number of children and young people that we support by working in partnership with local authorities to increase the number of schools we work in
• taking support to where children are and meeting local needs through community-based services, such as our Emotionally-Based School Avoidance projects
• raising teachers’ awareness and understanding of children’s mental health by expanding our work in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) to support more student teachers
• keeping the Promise to care-experienced* children and young people (the outcome of the Independent Care Review) by strengthening collective understanding of reflective practice for all those who support children in care 
• delivering and championing reflective practice across the Scottish education system
• building the capacity of Scotland’s schools and education professionals to create mentally healthy classrooms through our Mental Health Champions – Foundation course and Senior Mental Health Leads programme
• building on the successful trial of our Parenting Smart Online Course for Foster Carers (through a partnership with The Fostering Network funded by STV’s Children’s Appeal) by expanding its reach across Scotland.

*You can find a definition of 'care experienced' from the Promise.