Rotherham MP and headteachers take concerns on pupils' mental health directly to government

John Healey arranged the Westminster meeting so minister Nick Gibb could hear directly from his constituency’s heads about the need for greater government support to help schools deal with mounting mental health concerns.

It follows the Wentworth & Dearne MP’s mental health survey, reported in the Advertiser earlier this year, which revealed all secondary schools, and a majority of primary schools, in the borough had reported a rise in mental health issues among students and staff since Mr Healey’s previous survey on the subject in 2018.

The MP said: “This was a great opportunity for our Rotherham headteachers to take their concerns to the heart of government and explain to the schools minster the scale of the problems they are having to deal with on a daily basis.

“They described how schools are having to adapt to deal with additional needs and often feel like they’re papering over cracks in a system that is struggling to meet the demand.

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“Five years after my original Schools Mental Health Report, school leaders still don’t feel like they have the expertise, funding or time to deal with the day-to-day issues they face to support both students and staff.

“The minister listened to the concerns and the complexity of the issues and it’s clear more needs to be done.

“But the government needs to step up its action and provide that extra help — including making sure there’s specialist mental health support in every school.”

Wath Academy’s Liam Ransome was one of the heads who attended the meeting.

He said: “We were able to give examples of the daily problems that we experience and put across concerns that teachers all over the country are facing when dealing with rising mental health issues in our classrooms.”

Jude Gray, head teacher at Wath Central Primary, said: “The rise in mental health and complex needs across schools is putting added pressure on all systems and services, both within school and externally.

“It was important for us to pass on the real-life issues that we face day-in, day-out to those in power so they can understand the pressures of what schools are having to deal with.”