Self-Harm Awareness Day aims to improve understanding

This Friday, 1st March 2024, is Self-Harm Awareness Day in the UK, aimed at improving understanding of this sensitive and often misunderstood topic. Run by Harmless, the national centre of excellence for self-harm and suicide prevention, the awareness campaign, sometimes known as Self-Injury Awareness Day, provides “an opportunity for everyone across the country to...

New briefing reveals concerns about in-patient mental health care for children

The NSPCC has published a new briefing about young people’s experiences of in-patient mental health care after a sharp increase in the number of children contacting Childline about this issue. The Helplines Insight Briefing reveals that children and young people often feel as though they’re not being listened to when they’re admitted to, cared...

75% of parents of young children worry for their mental health

New research shows that 3 in 4 UK parents with pre-school aged children worry about their mental health and wellbeing. A recent survey carried out by the NSPCC found that UK parents are anxious about their child’s mental health as well as issues such as social media use and bullying. The issue that parents...

Childline: Over 100,000 children seek mental health help

Data released by the NSPCC reveals that over 100,000 children contacted Childline last year for help with mental health struggles. The confidential charity helpline delivered more than 105,000 counselling sessions on mental health and emotional wellbeing between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023 – over half of the total number of counselling sessions...

Good Childhood Report: Cost-of-living crisis impacts wellbeing

The latest Good Childhood Report reveals widespread unhappiness among children, with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis having a marked impact on their wellbeing. This is the twelfth annual report published by The Children’s Society into the wellbeing of children and young people across the UK. The charity says that this year’s report reveals that too...

Youth Mental Health Day focuses on building confidence

Youth Mental Health Day 2023 is focused on the theme #BeBrave, to help boost the courage and confidence of young people. Tuesday 19th September 2023 is Youth Mental Health Day, an awareness campaign founded by teenage mental health charity stem4 in 2020 to improve understanding and increase discussion of mental health in young people....

Charity wants to get children’s mental health #OutInTheOpen

National charity YoungMinds is encouraging people to bring children’s mental health out into the open with a new step challenge for Spring. The charity’s #OutInTheOpen campaign challenges people to walk 310,000 steps in 31 days during May to raise money for children and young people’s mental health, and encourage open and honest conversations about...

NSPCC campaign tackles ‘heart-breaking’ loneliness

The NSPCC has launched a new campaign to tackle the “heart-breaking” loneliness experienced by children and young people across the country. The ‘Day in the Lonely’ campaign uses day-in-the-life style videos to illustrate how three young people experience loneliness. The videos, based on real-life calls received by Childline, are designed to encourage children to...

Let’s Connect for Children’s Mental Health Week

This week (6th-12th February 2023) is Children’s Mental Health Week and the theme for this year is Let’s Connect, as data suggests more than two-thirds of children experiencing mental health problems feel socially anxious. The annual awareness week is run by children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, and was first launched in 2015 to help...

Child mental health referrals up 39% after ‘difficult’ year

Referrals for child mental health services have risen by 39% in England in just one year, official data has revealed. NHS referrals for mental health treatment for under-18s increased to more than 1.1 million during 2021-22, compared to 839,570 in 2020-21, and 850,741 in 2019-20. The figures – branded “alarming” by the NSPCC –...

Parents have lost faith in child mental health care

An investigation carried out by the BBC has found that parents and headteachers have lost faith in the mental health care system for children and young people as they face “agonisingly” long waits for treatment. After examining data from half of England’s services, investigators found that 1 in 5 children seen for mental health...

It’s Youth Mental Health Day

Today (7th September) marks Youth Mental Health Day 2021, with the theme for this year focussing on how young people can #StrideForward with their mental health and wellbeing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Established by leading youth mental health charity Stem4, the awareness day aims to encourage understanding and discussion of mental...

Childline supports young people with sexuality and gender identity

During Pride Month, Childline has voiced its support for children and young people struggling with their gender identity or sexuality. The national charity helpline says that, over the past year, it has seen a 29% increase in the number of young people contacting them to talk about concerns relating to coming out. The helpline...

Childline counsels 90,000 children during pandemic

The NSPCC’s confidential helpline, Childline, delivered nearly 90,000 counselling sessions for young people worried about mental health or abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic. The national children’s charity said they had grown increasingly concerned about the “huge toll” the pandemic has had on young people. Data from Childline for the period 1st April 2020 until...

Landmark mental health study reveals rise in loneliness

A landmark mental health study reveals a mixed picture for the UK one year after the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, with more adults experiencing loneliness. The Mental Health in the Pandemic study, which began shortly before the first national lockdown in March 2020 and has asked questions of the UK public at 10 intervals...