Nursery World - Rise in number of schools asking for mental health support for children

Children as young as three are being referred by nurseries and schools for professional support with their mental health, the NSPCC has learned.

More than half of referrals from settings in England for mental health treatment in the last three years were from primary schools, the NSPCC says.

The average age of the youngest child at referral was around three-and-a half in 2017/18.

The charity’s figures are based on a Freedom of Information request it made to NHS trusts in England.

According to the data, there were 123,713 referrals made by education settings seeking professional mental health help between 2014/15 and 2017/18.

Of these, 56 per cent of referrals came from primary schools. An average of 183 referrals were made per school day in 2017/18.

In this context, 'education settings' encompasses local authority maintained schools, academies, nurseries, independent schools and providers, and pupil referral units.

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