While it has been very encouraging and heart-warming to share stories of positive mental health and well-being this week in Edmund Rice College, it is just as important to reflect on mental ill health, in our school and in our community. It exists, and more so than before. We need to recognise and give a voice to our young people who are suffering and to highlight the current crisis in mental health in our local community and right across Northern Ireland.

A recent news report written by BBC education correspondent, Robbie Meredith, presented the stark “rise in NI children seeking help during coronavirus pandemic”. An even more worrying statistic was revealed this week by Professor Siobhan O’Neill, mental health champion for Northern Ireland. Professor O’Neill reported that “young people in Northern Ireland were already 25% more likely to have depression and anxiety than those elsewhere in the UK before the pandemic”.

This figure has clearly worsened since the start of the pandemic and there is research to show that the mental health of our young people has been more heavily impacted by the restrictions than any other year group. The “alarming increase” in young people seeking mental health interventions and presenting with “very severe symptoms” has been reported by service providers. The same providers are well beyond the capacity to facilitate and meet the needs of this rising number of young people in crisis.

In 2018, Koulla Yiasouma, Northern Ireland’s commissioner for children and young people, released a NICCY report called “Still Waiting” which highlighted the struggle at that time for children trying to access appropriate mental health support. She commented on her disappointment at the start of this week that many of the report recommendations are yet to be implemented.

Figures reported by Robbie Meredith:

Ms Yiasouma added: "CAMHS statistics are showing an increase in referrals to CAMHS from emergency departments (ED) for young people presenting during a mental health crisis.

"Between 2019-20 and 2020-21 referrals from ED have increased by 24% from 765 to 949."

There has also been a rise in the number of children who have "acute, complex and enduring mental health and emotional needs" waiting for help, according to the commissioner.

In November 2021, 451 children with those needs were waiting more than nine weeks for their first appointment with appropriate services - a rise from March 2021 when the figure was 167.

Additionally, in 2020-21, more than 1,800 children and young people "disengaged" from CAMHS before their treatment or intervention was complete.

There were also significant rises in the number of children waiting to access child psychology and children's learning disability services.

Reference: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60282650

It is clear that significant and urgent action is desperately needed to support our young people suffering in this mental health crisis. NI Health Minister Robin Swann has stated that an extra “£1.2bn was needed to fully implement recommendations in a new 10-year mental health strategy” – something that Koulla Yiasouma and Professor O’Neill will continue to campaign towards. In the meantime, pastoral care departments in our schools right across NI remain on the “front line” of this crisis as well as you; the parents, carers, grandparents and siblings at home. We know and understand what you are going through. At Edmund Rice College, we are committed to battling this crisis alongside you.

The mental health and well-being of our young people and you, their families, lies firmly at the core of our ERC ethos – “Care in the home, the school and the community”. While we are definitely witnessing this reported increase in young people presenting with mental health needs within the walls of ERC, it is important to recognise and commend the bravery of our students coming forward to ask for help. We assure you that our “outstanding pastoral care department”, as reported by the education inspectorate in our most recent whole-school inspection, are always on hand to help.

Over the last number of years, mental health and well-being have featured heavily in our school development and department action plans. We have made several fundamental changes to our curriculum and school calendar with the inclusion of our wholeschool Positivity Day and Staff Well-being Day for example. We introduced the Well-being Wednesday theme before the outbreak of the pandemic, and when Lockdown hit us, these were moved online and had great student and community participation - with the Family BakeOff challenge via Facebook Live for example. The creation of the online community hub in response to the Covid19 Lockdown also had Mental Health and Well-being as its main focus and was actually launched this same week last year by Professor Siobhan O'Neill - Mental Health Champion for NI.

Moving forward - our promise to you, the community:

Schools provide an important setting in which to support good mental health and wellbeing, equipping young people to progress into adult life as resilient, compassionate and socially engaged citizens. At ERC we are committed to providing a safe, nurturing and positive educational, academic and pastoral experience for our young people. We will continue to place emphasis upon this in our school development and pastoral care action plans. We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in supporting the growth, academic development and physical as well as mental well-being and of our young people.

"It takes a village to raise a child"
African Proverb