The recent Ideagen Education Risk Report - Looming Mental Health Crisis and Other Key Risks Affecting Schools in 2023 highlights a number of issues that schools are grappling with.
In this third article in the series, we focus on the Report’s findings regarding student mental health issues.
Schools are increasingly required to address mental health challenges faced by students, who are struggling with these issues at alarming rates. Our survey found that 97.5 per cent of all respondents have been somewhat or greatly impacted by increases in student mental health issues and the expectation is that schools should do more about it.
A pre-pandemic survey by Mission Australia had found that almost one in four young people in Australia were experiencing psychological distress and just three years later, a Human Rights Commission report found that over 41 per cent of 4,559 surveyed children aged 9-17 reported negative impacts on their wellbeing due to the pandemic. Furthermore, one in four students reported feeling more scared, worried or down in 2022 compared to before the pandemic.
Pre-pandemic research from the University of Western Australia analysed school attendance data over a 12-month period and found that students with mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression and ADHD, missed more school days on average compared to their peers. For example, students with mental health challenges in years 11-12 missed 26 days of school on average compared to their peers who missed an average of 12 days.
Missed days due to mental health challenges can place academic achievement at risk, especially without strategies in place to catch up on missed learning opportunities. Associate Professor Lawrence notes that accommodating students with mental health challenges requires an individualised approach that goes beyond truancy and school refusal behaviour, which have been the focus to date. Schools must work with parents and children to navigate these challenges and provide accommodations or strategies that meet the individual needs of each student.
Looking for what to do next? The Association for Children’s Mental Health, a parent-led organisation in the USA, provides some practical tips and strategies for possible accommodations or strategies that may assist children and youth with mental health challenges to succeed at school. Closer to home, the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD), an Australian Government initiative, has released a podcast series highlighting adjustments that can be made in the classroom to enable students with mental health issues to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers.
Additionally, the Australian Government budgeted in the 2022 budget to give the average school around $20,000 each in 2023 as part of a $203 million ‘Student Wellbeing Boost’ which recognised the role schools can play in prevention and early intervention in the mental health of their students. The funding is also directed towards increasing the number of mental health professionals such as school counsellors and psychologists as well as enabling extra-curricular and sporting activities that improve students’ wellbeing
Student mental health challenges are an increasingly urgent concern for schools. Students with mental health challenges are missing more school days than their peers, which can put their academic achievements at risk. Accommodations and individualised strategies are needed to support these students, and organisations like the Association for Children's Mental Health and the National Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability offer practical tips and resources for addressing these challenges. The additional funding by the Australian Government for mental health professionals and wellbeing programs in schools is a positive step towards addressing these issues, but more action is needed to ensure that all students can access the support they need to succeed in school and beyond.