A group of clinical psychologists working with children, young people, and families across the UK are calling for the Government to act on what they say is an “unprecedented mental health crisis that demands immediate government action.“
Dr Hayley Smith and Dr Natasha Holden have launched a petition and have recently had a reply from a letter they sent to Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, on the issue. Hayley and Natasha have written for us about the issue so many families are all too familiar with…
Systemic action is needed on mental health and school attendance. By Dr Hayley smith and Dr Natasha Holden
Our Education System is causing a mental health and attendance crisis, and systemic change is needed rather than blaming, shaming and punishing children and their parents.
As psychologists working within schools or clinically with children suffering with their mental health, we see daily in our practice children and young people who are distressed by their experiences of school. Many are traumatised and develop mental health problems as a result, and many end up opting out of school one way or another. They include children who are isolated and punished for unmet needs communicated through their behaviours, children who say they would rather die than go to school, children who are burned out and can barely leave the house, and children who have an extremely negative sense of self and label themselves as failures. Children who are neurodivergent or have experienced trauma are suffering the most; however, our current system does not prioritise the needs of children generally.
Our education system in England has become increasingly rigid and those children who do not fit this “one-size-fits all” system with its test-driven approach and strict zero-tolerance behaviour policies are suffering in the thousands. Regular testing set to central government expectations means that children are constantly compared to their peers from a very young age, with frequent talk of children being ‘behind’ or labelled as ‘naughty’ if they do not conform to an unrealistic set of expectations around behaviour and academic targets at set ages.
Children learn at different rates—well into adulthood
Using standardised testing as a way of measuring the quality of teaching or children’s ability is based on the assumption that all children should be at the same stage at the same time. Research consistently shows this approach is harmful to children’s well-being and intrinsic motivation to learn. It does not align with what we know about child development and neuroscience. Children’s brains develop at different ages and stages until they are well into their twenties, and those who develop at different rates are led to believe that they do not measure up.
Children are born with tendencies to grow and master challenges, with a natural motivation to learn. To develop emotionally, socially, cognitively and physically, they need plenty of movement, regular breaks, lots of time to play and be creative. Children also need choice, autonomy, positive relationships, and the freedom to follow their interests to thrive psychologically in school. They need plenty of free time after school, at weekends and during school holidays to support information processing, concentration and memory, rather than filling this time with homework or other structured, adult-led activities.
“Prison-like” school
Many children describe school as ‘Victorian’ or ‘prison-like’. We hear of behaviour points, detentions and isolations being given out constantly for minor infractions of the rules such as not sitting facing forward, not tracking the teacher’s eyes, dropping a pen, moving too much, talking to peers, moving out of line, having the incorrect colour socks for P.E., being one minute late to class or simply having a bad day.
Children are being named and shamed on public behaviour charts, excluded from school trips and end-of-school proms for not meeting unrealistic expectations around behaviour and attendance. On top of this, many schools also control children’s toilet use—denying them this human right and only unlocking the toilets at break times. As a result, many children stop drinking for fear of needing the toilet, and we regularly hear distressing accounts of children wetting in class, and girls who are unable to manage their periods with dignity. We recognise that some schools are working hard to implement more inclusive, trauma-informed approaches and are seeing positive results. However, these remain exceptions within a system that structurally undermines children’s wellbeing.
An rigid system that’s failing children, teachers, and parents
Our outdated, ‘one-size fits all’ education system with unrealistic targets, data farming, narrow curriculum, ‘coached performance’ pedagogy, and the use of punishment and coercive control of children are the key reasons for large numbers of teachers leaving the profession. Its also why record numbers of children are out of school. While phones and COVID often get the blame, school is the most significant contributing factor to the burgeoning mental health crisis among children and young people. As a result, statutory and private mental health services are overwhelmed, and dedicated staff are burned out trying to help. The children we see don’t need therapy, pathologising, labelling or fixing, just so they can survive school.
Parents are also being blamed, shamed and punished unfairly, resulting in whole families being traumatised. This is particularly relevant given current government considerations about EHCP reforms and increased punitive measures. Current government proposals for school attendance orders and parent fines are blunt instruments that ignore the root causes. When children are struggling with their mental health because of school experiences, punitive measures will only make the crisis worse.
Systemic problems need systemic changes
The cause is systemic, and things won’t change until the whole system changes radically. This doesn’t mean reviewing certain aspects of the system or only considering children with SEND, nor does it mean allocating more money for mental health workers in schools. It means using research around child-development, neuroscience and trauma to inform educational policy, putting relationships, children’s needs and rights at the centre, reforming Ofsted frameworks to meaningfully include wellbeing and inclusion measures, handing back control of the education system to teachers, providing good quality training and trusting that they can do their job.
We’re calling for:
- Reassessment of high-stakes testing in primary schools given evidence of harm to children’s mental health
- Implementation of developmentally appropriate teaching methods based on child development research
- Transformation of punitive behaviour policies to evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches
- Reform of Ofsted frameworks to meaningfully include wellbeing and inclusion measures
- Urgent meeting with clinical psychologists to discuss evidence-based solutions for our children
As psychologists, we have been gathering the evidence for many years through our clinical practice and work with children in schools. We feel it’s our job to speak up on behalf of the children and families we see. The government must listen to the professionals who see the impact of these policies every day. We have written an open letter to Bridget Phillipson calling for evidence-based education reform. We also have a growing petition (for registered psychologists only please) signed by more than 2,000 psychologists, representing the largest collective action by UK psychologists on education policy in recent history.
Together, we believe that we can create an education system that supports children’s wellbeing AND academic achievement. We recently had a response to our letter inviting us to meet with the government’s Pupil Mental and Wellbeing and Engagement Unit who are keen to hear our perspectives on this important issue. Watch this space…
References
- Emotional burden in school as a source of mental health problems associated with ADHD and/or autism: Development and validation of a new co‐produced self‐report measure – Lukito – 2025 – Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry – Wiley Online Library
- Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools : Fran Morgan, Ellie Costello, Ian Gilbert: Amazon.co.uk: Books
- Diogu et al. (2025) Journal of Affective Disorders Volume 385 Risk of suicide following school persistent absence and exclusion: an electronic cohort study in Wales, UK 2012–2019 – ScienceDirect
- Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition report (PDF)
- Khawaja and Bagley (2024) Breaking the silence | BPS
- McPherson et al. (2023) ‘Schools for All. Young People’s experiences of alienation in the English Secondary School System’
- The Good Childhood Report 2024 | The Children’s Society
- Popoola et al. (2023) ‘Young People’s views on Mental Health’
- Play Matters | Early Years Reviews Ch 9 ‘Play in School Based Environments’
- DECP position paper on Children’s Right to Play
- The Attachment Research Community
- Fisher and Fricker (2025) What Can We Do When School’s Not Working? An Illustrated Handbook for Professionals
- Applying Self-Determination Theory to Education: Regulations Types, Psychological Needs, and Autonomy Supporting Behaviors – Frédéric Guay, 2022
- The Side Effects of School: A Crisis in Mental Health Can’t Be Solved Through Therapy, by Dr Naomi Fisher
- Research by Peter Gray (Professor at Boston College)
About the authors
Dr Hayley Smith is a Clinical Psychologist and Systemic Family Therapist with 12 years experience providing psychological services within the NHS and nine years working independently. She has special expertise in neurodivergent children and young people and those who’ve experienced trauma, including their support systems. She is also a member of Square Peg and HOME | Education Policy All. Email | LinkedIn
Disabled Children’s Rights are Under Attack.
We’re fighting, but we can’t do it alone: we need your help more than ever.
We’re volunteer-run, but costs are rising. To help us keep going, please consider a one-off or, if it’s possible, a regular donation.
Read more about being a regular donor here.
We use Zeffy to fundraise, which doesn’t charge us a fee, so 100% of your donation reaches us.
Also read:
- Search our knowledgebase, including legal questions
- Posts about Neurodiversity and neurodivergent conditions
- Post about mental health
- What makes an autism assessment report genuinely useful to a school?
- Big ideas belong to everyone: Education, rights and lifelong learning for people with learning disabilities
- As The Guardian prints our joint campaign’s open letter, it’s clear people with lived experience don’t want to lose SEND rights
- How do you ensure pathways to education, health, and social care support, meet both diagnosis and needs?
- Researching flexi-schooling: How beneficial is it for children with SEND?
- Oops, we did it again… The Government must now listen to more than 100,000 people who do not want to lose SEND rights
- Experts at Hand: When is an occupational therapist also a SEND expert?
- Could using AI to filter Government consultation responses lead to “algorithmic silencing” of neurodivergent voices?
- A council’s “improvement journey”? How determined SEND parents catalogued the trail of their LA’s unlawful behaviour
- Research: Social networks in special schools. Friendships, bullying and play
- CrowdJustice SEND accountability: When the law says “must”, local authorities cannot treat it as “maybe”
- DfE must give its SEND reform Child Rights Impact Assessment a do-over; this time, without marking its own homework
- Research shows children in special schools report higher self-esteem than those with SEN in mainstream
- Part 2: The Testimonies. Children died; the system looked away. Will government SEND reforms make this scandal even worse?
- Children died. The system looked away. Today, the Government is calling the human cost of cutting rights, “reform” [Part 1]
- Jen’s Acorn: Offering vital school support to prevent more unnecessary tragedies like my daughter’s
- ADHD and Autism Right To Choose referrals paused as at least nine NHS areas tell providers to stop booking assessments
- “It’s not a compliance issue—it’s a design failure” Psychologists call for action on mental health and “harmful” school policies
What kind of government is “bold” enough to scrap statutory EHCPs from vulnerable children?May 16, 2025
The SEND reforms in the Schools White Paper reveal rights given, and rights stripped awayFebruary 24, 2026
Don’t miss a thing!
Don’t miss any posts from SNJ – simply add your email address below. You must click the link in the confirmation email you’ll receive to activate your free subscription.
You can also keep up with us by following our
Want more? Be an SNJ regular donor!
SNJ is a non-profit and everyone who writes here does so voluntarily. We need your support to help us with costs by donating once or as a regular patron. Find out more here
- What makes an autism assessment report genuinely useful to a school? - October 14, 2026
- Big ideas belong to everyone: Education, rights and lifelong learning for people with learning disabilities - October 12, 2026
- As The Guardian prints our joint campaign’s open letter, it’s clear people with lived experience don’t want to lose SEND rights - October 9, 2026
Please share this article!
Discover more from Special Needs Jungle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
