Reaction to our Young People’s Mental Health in the UK Report
It’s been heartening to see the huge interest generated by our report on Young People’s Mental Health in the UK in partnership with social enterprise Minds Ahead.
Organisations from NSPCC Learning to the Student Mental Health Research Network and the mental health charity iheart have shared our report on their social media channels. Meanwhile, the Chair of EdTech UK, Ty Goddard, has described it as a ‘must read’ and Seema Malhotra MP has called it a ‘really important report’.
The Deputy CEO and Director of Policy of Agenda, which campaigns on gender and inequality, has said the report has added to the ‘evidence of the growing extent of girls’ poor mental health, made worse by the pandemic’.
We’ve of course been delighted with the media’s response too. Melanie Phillips, a commentator, noted in her column in The Times that our report showed that the worries troubling girls can be far less visible than those of boys. Our report was covered in the news pages of The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, TES magazine, The Educator, Children & Young People Now and dozens of regional news publications, as well as media platforms in India and Iran.
Our tool, STEER Tracking, alerts schools to students who may have emerging mental health risks, but are not showing visible signs of vulnerability. Many schools use student voice tools, such as online surveys and chat hubs, to identify vulnerable students, but these tend to fail to spot the ‘hidden middle’ – those who may be showing early signs of self-harm, bullying, anxiety and unhealthy self-control. With our tool, you’ll also be able to write personalised action plans on each student identified as potentially vulnerable and high quality training for your staff.
We’ve been fortunate enough to work with more than 250 schools so far and to have advised the DfE on the impact of the pandemic on young people’s mental health. Get in touch with us here to see how we can help you.
Find out more about STEER Education