Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said:
“With the mental health of so many children at crisis point, we welcome today’s announcement of a new cross-government Mental Health Strategy. The call for evidence to transform mental health support from crisis intervention to prevention has never been more urgent.
“Through our Barnardo’s services, we know how desperately an effective Mental Health Strategy is needed. As a leading reason for poor school attendance, untreated mental health issues limit children and young people’s ability to thrive in adulthood - threatening the prospects of an entire generation.
"While the government has already made progress by rolling out Mental Health Support Teams, the current model does not fully support children and young people with moderate learning difficulties, special educational needs and disabilities, and younger children in particular. The Mental Health Strategy must expand the Mental Health Support Teams to include school counsellors, so that all children can access the right support at the right time, with the added benefit of reducing pressure on the NHS.
“We also need to see the development of concrete metrics and mental health targets to better measure the government commitment to raise the healthiest generation of children. We are looking forward to engaging with the Mental Health Strategy and its call for evidence, to make sure that the voices of children and young people who need it are heard.”