A major piece of research commissioned by the Department for Education has provided a new insight into the state of mental health provision in England’s schools.

The study by NatCen Social Research and the National Children’s Bureau surveyed 2,780 schools and colleges and carried out more in-depth case study research with 15 schools.

Here are some of the key findings:

1. Insufficient funding - lack of funding was identified by 71 per cent of the schools surveyed as a “major barrier” to setting up mental health provision. The case study research uncovered “concerns about long waiting lists and high thresholds for specialist provision”, with participants attributing this to “cutbacks” and “rising mental health need among their pupils”.
    
2. Schools are reliant on voluntary services - according to the research, schools and colleges are making use of free and low-cost support in the form of input from charities, pilot interventions and “practitioners looking to build up their contact hours”.
   
   “However, there were concerns about the sustainability of using such interventions,” the report states. “If a charity or practitioner provided free or low-cost support to the school for a trial period, there was uncertainty whether the school could sustain the funding for the intervention in the future.”
    
3. Single points of contact in NHS mental health services are rare - only one in five (19 per cent) schools had a single point of contact in NHS children and young people’s mental health services. 
   
   This lack of a single point of contact was “especially common” in mainstream schools, with a lack of time and capacity within external services to link with schools identified as a “key barrier to joint working”.
   
   According to the research, having a single point of contact within NHS services “helped to build relationships” and provided “valuable specialist support and guidance for schools”. Schools with a single point of contact reported higher levels of satisfaction with NHS services than those without them.
    
4. Lack of internal capacity is a problem - 59 per cent of schools reported a lack of internal capacity as a barrier. “Even in the case studies, which were selected because of their relatively high level of provision, participants felt that a lack of time and staff capacity limited their ability to create a culture and ethos that supported mental health,” the report says.
    
5. Mental health stigma - a quarter (26 per cent) of schools highlighted a “lack of engagement” among pupils, parents or carers as a barrier to mental health provision. “The stigma surrounding mental health was perceived to discourage engagement,” the report states.