Teach Secondary -Issue 15.1

extent are they a consequence of broader cultural shifts in society? According to Bijan Omrani, author of God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England , this kind of therapeutic thinking has been with us for some time: “ You start to get the rise of the world of the self from the 1960s, and a shift away from the old orientation to emotions that sought to damp them down, forget about them in order that society can function .” The new idea, Omrani explains, is to “ Work out and cherish and cultivate all of the deep individual desires you have, no matter how disruptive they might be.” Children’s mental health has even become a topic for assemblies. As trained counsellor Lucy Beney argues in Suffer the Children , a paper she produced for Family Education Trust (see tinyurl. com/ts151-TP1), “ If whole year groups in school have assemblies on mental health issues, it is inevitable that some present who may previously have been unbothered, will start to wonder if passing feelings are more significant than they actually are, as everything is interpreted through a therapeutic lens. ” In Beney’s view, the same applies to so-called ‘mindfulness lessons’. She cites one parent who asked their local authority if they could opt out of mindfulness interventions they considered to be potentially damaging to their children’s emotional lives. Those delivering such interventions aren’t necessarily qualified to do so, and may therefore be doing more harm that good. It seems like a modest request – can’t parents trust schools to not subject their children to mental health initiatives they could do without? As Beney concludes, “ While more resources than ever before are being expended onmental health, the situation appears to be getting worse year on year.” Redefining the issue It would appear that we’re now dealing with the consequences of a shift away from the ‘stiff upper lip’ culture of old (whichmay, admittedly, have had some problems of its own), compounded by the more recent distress resulting from the devastating impact of school closures during the COVID pandemic. The numbers of children with anxiety issues, special needs and ‘behaviour disorders’ are all on the rise, despite this therapeutic and inclusive approach having been in place for decades. It’s clearly not working. By understanding children more as psychologically troubled and in need of support, have we been failing to address needs that stem from a lack of effective socialisation? By putting every child ‘on the couch’ or labelling themwith something, are we redefining what might be better understood as problems related to their upbringing?Worse still, are we diverting much-needed resources away from those who really need them? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dave Clements is a local government policy advisor and associate of the Education Forum at the Academy of Ideas IN BRIEF WHAT’S THE ISSUE? The perception among policymakers and officials is that challenges around youth mental health are now so acute that one potential measure could be to give every school access to a specialist mental health support team by the end of the decade. WHAT’S BEING SAID? Survey findings regularly show that rates of mental ill health – already notably high even before the COVID 19 pandemic – have soared in recent years, and largely stayed at a high level. This has prompted educators across many schools and universities – including Cambridge – to review some long-established traditions and methods of assessment, while tackling what they see as an entrenched ‘culture of overwork’. WHAT’S REALLYHAPPENING? The after-effects of the post-COVID experience have combined with society-wide shifts (already underway for some time) that have seen individual emotional responses given primacy over collective stoicism. At the same time, a growing awareness of mental health issues may, in some cases, have served to pathologise otherwise standard adolescent sensations and behaviours. THE TAKEAWAY It’s difficult to say with certainty whether the scale of the mental health challenge may be overstated or not. But even in the event that the relevant reports and survey figures are all accurate, they appear to indicate that the ‘wellbeing and mindfulness’ culture now prominent within many schools hasn’t been enough to meet said challenge – thus suggesting that we might want to embark on a different strategy instead. Join the CONVERSATION The Academy of Ideas Education Forum gathers regularly to discuss trends in educational policy, theory and practice. Find out more at academyofideas.org.uk/education-forum 13 teachwire.net/secondary H O T TO P I C