‘Build Back Better’ must include tackling children’s mental health

Another report — this one released in the last couple of days by the Prince’s Trust — supplies yet more evidence of the damaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health.

Sadly, current problems merely add to an already existing crisis. We need an approach to looking after our children and young people that not only addresses acute and immediate problems but also puts in place a bold strategy to promote future wellbeing.

The report, The Prince’s Trust Tesco Youth Index 2021, contains worrying and sometimes shocking statistics. It says that “more young people are feeling down or depressed than at any other time in the history of the Youth Index.” Click on the link below to read and/or download the report.

This observation aligns with evidence from mental health charities and others. For example, in December we highlighted the work of the young people’s mental health charity Young Minds, who said that demand for the charity’s services has been “higher than ever”. In October we posted about a report in the British Journal of Psychiatry which stated that anxiety among young people has trebled in the last 20 years.

However, the Prince’s Trust report also offers hope:

The research indicates that while the pandemic has taken its toll on young people’s mental health and wellbeing, many are also more motivated than ever to make a positive change for their future.

Prince’s Trust Tesco Youth Index 2021, Executive Summary

Life-based learning is all about looking to the future. It aims to empower children by giving them the knowledge and skills to look after themselves, to create positive, long-lasting relationships in vibrant communities, and to live in an environmentally-friendly, sustainable way.

Life-based learning also takes the issue of mental health seriously. A life-based curriculum will help children to grow up emotionally resilient. The Emotions is one of nine life themes, each with equal priority, that form of the framework of a life-based curriculum.