I have hesitated for some time before putting in writing my thoughts on the subject of Young People's Mental Health within our current education system. I have witnessed the narrowing of what education means, from a distance. I have witnessed increased concern from parents and friends who are teachers and educators about the welfare of the children and young people in their care. I have tried to help young people with the support of their parents to negotiate the emotional minefields of their most significant educational milestones.
Sometimes when discussing young people's mental health, we are satisfied with laying the blame on new technology, social media and other things that are different from our day. However, unless you are involved in trying to provide a balanced creative and social education within the current education system, it is unlikely that you will be aware of the impact of successive diktats from government about focusing on exam results, to the detriment of a truly culturally diverse curriculum. Also the focus on needing to achieve, 'outstanding' according to OFSTED criteria seems to be taking focus away from preparing young people for a rounded and successful life, which enables them to weather the inevitable storms and challenges of life as it is.
Why decide to cover this in a Mental Health blog? Because I have recently had a more sustained glimpse inside for the first time since leaving teaching in the 1990s. I am currently trying to overcome my fears and have been applying for work so that I can make the step away from having to rely on benefits. This has meant I have been attending interviews for jobs which are focused on 'Pastoral', 'Welfare' and other 'caring' roles within schools and colleges. My CV obviously gives me some encouragement that I am being invited for interview. My teaching coupled with my lived experience of mental health, along with the work I've been doing in the community would seem to be a perfect fit.
However, following my interview at a local college, which on paper was all but perfect, I have felt deeply uneasy and, at times upset about the atmosphere and attitudes towards students' welfare. Although the role was designated as 'Pastoral' none of the discussion, observation or interview questions explored the link between mental well-being and 'success'. It upset me primarily because I know that one student from this college took their own life in a very public way last year and I am aware of the emotional issues currently being managed by students within the college.
On paper there is a 'counselling department' but I wondered about how effectively this works as there was no explanation of how this department worked alongside those trusted with the general welfare of the student body. Or even, if there is any wider conversation beyond referral and tick in box. In the end the aim of the Pastoral role was to ensure that students remain within the college and 'successfully' complete their courses.
As myself and the other unsuccessful candidate were sifted halfway through the day, I realised that we were the 'quirky', more experienced, more expensive candidates. We stood out, we were big personalities - too big and too experienced maybe to just deliver a proforma welfare programme of lessons. There did not seem to be any scope to individually tailor delivery of coping and mental well-being skills to the small tutorial groups in addition to the prescribed programme of social and health education.
I now know my main mistake was in focusing on helping young people develop a safe group of people and safe place within college so that they could feel supported emotionally as well as academically. The problem, I wanted to ensure that young people enjoyed their time and were able to manage stresses around exams and the future by providing a forum to share coping skills.
This I find is not the pastoral agenda for school and colleges. It can't be. Exam results and OFSTED reports are integral and essential to funding for all activities within the establishment. There can't be additional resources for the mental health initiatives the government has now loaded onto the already overstretched education system.
There are a large number of these posts being advertised and not every school or college I have attended for interview have had such a narrow emphasis. In fact I have been encouraged by conversations with school leaders who recognise the need for a compassionate and responsive mental health strategy which is willing to consider building up resilience and crisis management skills for all of their students. While educational success is dictated by government and political ideology and narrowly assessed based on exam results, we will continue to face growing issues around young people's battles with anxiety, depression and other related issues such as substance misuse.
My conclusion is that there is no room for a teacher like me anymore within education. I believe too much in the individuality of life experience and the fact that each student does not come to us as an empty vessel passively waiting to be filled by the prescribed knowledge which can be measured by exams and tests and reassure those in power who wish to avoid questioning minds.
Where that leaves our need to support young people so that they can be resilient enough to cope with all that life throws at them, I don't know. I do know that educators need expertise from outside as well as resources which can help them feel more confident in speaking to young people about issues around self injury and suicide in particular. It requires investment in pastoral staffing which is separate from the academic staff and curriculum, where young people can have confidence that there is a safe place and safe people with whom they can be open. The school nurse service maybe a model which can offer one pathway, or designated mental Health leads, which I believe is in the pipeline. I would say that given the current pressures on management, such a role does need to be seen as not linked to a student's academic progress.
Small short term projects are a good start. However, I do believe there needs to be a completely different approach to school pastoral structures, particularly in the post 16 world.
These are simply my personal views.
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