Primary Schools: Mental Health Problems

Debate between Lord Farmer and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I am afraid that I think it is important that we maintain both the check on students’ progress and the accountability for our schools that key stage tests enable us to have. So, no, I will not be taking the noble Lord up on his suggestion of fundamentally changing those any time in the near future.

[Lord Farmer (Con)]

My Lords, for children and adults, feeling sad and unhappy is a normal human experience. Recent polling found that 84% of GPs think society’s approach to mental health has led to the normal ups and downs of life being seen as medical problems. However, family breakdown—one of the causes that the noble Lord, Lord Storey, did not mention—is an underrecognised driver of children’s poor mental health. How are the Government guarding against overdiagnosis of mental illness in children and also helping parents understand that parental splits profoundly affect their children?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes some important points, based of course on his long experience of supporting families to support their children. I am clear that clinical support should be sought for children only where it is appropriate. Schools need to seek the right source of support at the right time for social and emotional needs, and that is where mental health support teams and other professionals can assist in making those decisions. On the important point he makes about family breakdowns, I completely share his view that it can be enormously difficult for children when their parents split. I am sure he will be pleased to hear that the Ministry of Justice provides support to help individuals to make child arrangements and find emotional support, for example. Resources are also available for that on the Cafcass website.

Schools: Mental Health and Poor Attendance

Debate between Lord Farmer and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My noble friend identifies particular issues around mental health and special educational needs and disability. There are 1.6 million children identified with SEND. Unfortunately, outcomes are poor and confidence in that provision is declining. That is why we are working hard and, as I mentioned in my speech last week, are willing to engage widely to provide ways in which we can support those children and improve a system that is currently failing too many of them.

[Lord Farmer (Con)]

My Lords, schools are called the fourth emergency service by the Association of School and College Leaders. They often help parents with benefit applications and mental health support so that their children will attend school. However, disrupted home environments, as well as mental ill-health, drive persistent absenteeism. Family hubs in Sefton, Salford, Kirklees and Bury St Edmunds are lifting this burden, freeing schools to teach. Will the new Government continue to support the growth of family hubs?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right, of course, that, for many children, schools are the stable part of their lives, but teachers, although they provide enormous levels of support along with other school staff, need to be able to focus on teaching children. Family hubs indeed play an important role in helping families to access vital services to improve the health, education and well-being of children and young people. We are already considering the overall approach to early childhood and family support, and how it can support this Government’s opportunity mission. That includes reviewing the future vision and intentions for family support, including the core role played by family hubs.