Government urged to focus on early intervention to tackle 'unprecedented' mental health challenges for children

Children and young people’s mental health charity Anna Freud believes a ‘dangerous’ treatment gap has developed between the demand for help and support available. It says this gap is leaving children waiting months, or even years, for ‘vital’ mental health support.

All the while, the scale of the problem is increasing as demand grows despite an overall increase in spending on children and young people’s mental health, says Anna Freud, and its challenges are so serious, that a ‘radical rethink is needed to shift the dial and improve mental wellbeing’.

The charity wants the next government to adopt its ‘Thinking differently plan’, shifting the emphasis of the mental health care system from urgent, specialist care to prevention and early intervention.

The plan outlines the five points the Government must make, they are:

• To give young people a meaningful say in an expanded approach to prevention services. The current budget spent on prevention and co-design solutions with children and young people who have lived experiences of mental ill-health need to be doubled.
• Focus on communities – increased funding for community assets like parks, sports centres and libraries to build local support networks and improve wellbeing.
• Adopt a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, underpinned with the promotion of social, emotional and physical development as well as academic achievement, and more training for school staff.
• Widen our collective understanding of childhood trauma, including increased spending on developing digital prevention strategies and early intervention services for those impacted.

The charity says that key to the plan, which is funded by the Prudence Trust, is identifying children and young people whose circumstances increase their risk of developing mental ill health, and working with them, their schools and communities to co-design more timely and effective interventions.

'Children are being failed because the system generally only kicks into gear when they reach crisis point'.

Professor Peter Fonagy chief executive of Anna Freud, said, ‘Children and young people are facing a perfect storm of challenges that negatively affect their mental health. Factors including poverty, trauma, academic pressure, membership of marginalised groups and the impact of the Covid pandemic all play a part.   

‘Children and young people are being failed because the system generally only kicks into gear when they reach crisis point. For many, that can mean months or even years of struggle.  

’The Anna Freud five-point plan will harness the lived experience of young people to inform prevention strategies and design more effective early interventions.’