The need for early intervention
A wealth of evidence points to a significant need for early mental health support:
- One in ten children aged between 5 and 16 years (three in every classroom) has a mental health problem, and many continue to have these problems into adulthood. (1)
- Over half of all mental ill health starts before the age of 14 years, and 75% has developed by the age of 18. (2)
- Among teenagers, rates of depression and anxiety have increased by 70% in the past 25 years. (3)
- NHS England estimates that poor mental health costs the economy, NHS and society £105 billion a year in England (4)
Children are less likely to suffer from serious mental health difficulties in later life if they receive support at an early age, providing a cost saving to adult mental health services.
Growing evidence indicates that promoting positive mental health also improves a range of positive school outcomes, including attitudes to learning, better attendance and lower exclusion rates.
The children we work with
The families of many of the children we work with manage on low incomes. In 2016/17, 52% of children receiving one-to-one counselling in Place2Be schools were receiving free school meals (FSM), compared to a quarter of children in primary schools in the local population.
Issues raised by children receiving our services are wide-ranging and often complex, including bullying, family breakdown, dealing with anger or anxiety, bereavement or friendship issues.
Find out more about the children who come to Place2Be
Place2Be works
Our robust monitoring and evaluation process indicates that children receiving Place2Be services show improvements in a range of measures, enabling children and schools to become happier and healthier.
Find out more about our impact
Sources
1. Source: Green h, McGinnity A, Meltzer h et al. (2005) Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
2. Source: Murphy M and Fonagy P (2012). Mental health problems in children and young people. In: Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2012. London: Department of Health.
3. Source: Collishaw, S., Maughan, B., Goodman, R., and Pickles, A. (2004) Time trends in adolescent mental health Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
4. Source: NSPCC. How safe are our children? 2016