Briefing for MPs
Opposition Day Debate – MENTAL
HEALTH
Wednesday 9 December 2015
Background
The Association of Colleges (AoC) represents and promotes the interests of
further education (FE) and sixth form colleges in England. FE colleges provide
high-quality technical and professional education and training for young people,
adults and employers. They prepare over three million students with valuable
skills for the workplace, helping to develop their career opportunities, whilst at
the same time helping to strengthen the local, regional and national economy.
Summary
AoC recognises that early prevention amongst school children is important to
help identify and address potential mental health issues, but the prevalence of
mental health issues amongst 16 to 18-year-olds in FE colleges is becoming
increasingly more pertinent and, arguably, more severe.
Mental health in colleges
The transition from school to college is a complex one; within which mental
health difficulties often arise, arguably more so than within schools. Colleges’
informal teaching delivery and timetable, in addition to employment pressures
for young people and the influence of social media, can all contribute to mental
health difficulties in 16 to 18-year-olds. There is also an added pressure on
those students having to achieve a minimum of a grade C in English and maths.
The vast majority of children that do not achieve this grade go to an FE college,
often having to re-take the exam several times, increasing the likelihood of
stress, anxiety and/or even depression.
The nature of post 16-year-old mental health means that the approach for
school children is very different to those students in colleges. The former is
primarily focused on the promotion of mental health and well-being, but the
latter is primarily concerned with meeting the needs of students who are often
already experiencing mental health difficulties. Mental health services in
colleges work best when in collaboration with local health authorities. Promoting
this and sharing good practice, particularly in times of financial constraint, is
essential, as is fully involving colleges in creating a clear, coherent and concrete
strategy for mental health moving forward.
Last week the Secretary of State for Education announced 22 pilot areas across
the country to improve mental health services for children in 255 schools,
whereby a single point of contact in the schools will be responsible for
developing closer relationships with a counterpart in local NHS Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to improve knowledge and
understanding of mental health issues. Whilst we welcome this initiative, we
remain concerned about the fact that there is no obvious inclusion of 16 to 18year-olds studying at FE colleges.
AoC survey on students with mental health conditions in further
education
AoC produced a survey1 to gain a clearer picture of mental health prevalence
and services in colleges. Of the 123 colleges (not every college responded to
every question) which responded, the survey produced a number of key
findings, most notably that:
 100% of all college responses said that they have students who self-harm
and have depression or anxiety;
 Out of 116 replies, 67% of respondents said that the proportion of
students with disclosed mental health conditions had significantly increased
year on year over the past three years;
 75% of colleges attributed pressure of social media to the increase in the
number of students with mental health difficulties (61% said financial
concerns, 60% said exam pressure, 41% said concerns about employment
and 64% said other);
 Out of 95 replies, 75% said that they are still encountering students
experiencing mental health difficulties despite the fact that they have not
disclosed this;
 Out of 31 replies, only 26% of respondents to the question: Does your
college have any joint provision with your local health authority? Said that
they did, whereas out of 90 replies, 74% of respondents said that they did
not.
Conclusion
Further education should be central to any mental health strategy going forward
and there needs to be much more coordinated work across organisations and
Government Departments to tackle this issue.
The £1.4 billion of funding2 invested by the Government to tackle mental health
over the next five years must be shared equally amongst school children and
post 16-year-olds studying at FE colleges. If the Government is serious about
putting mental health on an equal footing with physical health, the only way to
do this is to ensure that post 16-year-olds are included in developing and
implementing a strategy for mental health moving forward.
AoC, 2015, Survey on students with mental health conditions in further education
As announced by Rt Hon Alastair Burt MP, Minister of State for Community and Social Care https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/providing-high-quality-mental-and-social-careservices
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