We’re thinking differently about mental health. Will you join us?

The mental health system, as it stands today, is failing children and young people.

A perfect storm of COVID-19 lockdowns, feelings of isolation and societal insecurity have compounded the issues young people face. And, despite an overall increase in spending on children and young people’s mental health¹, one in five young people in England today has a probable mental health disorder² while requests for mental health services for children and young people have risen by more than 120% since 2018³.

As we approach a general election, we believe it’s time to start thinking differently and that’s why we’ve created our first ever manifesto. Within this, we align science, research and insights from young people to tell the next government what matters most in how we support children and young people’s mental health now and in the future.

Read it in full or watch our video below which brings each of our asks to life. Will you join us in thinking differently?

Why our manifesto matters

Anna Freud is a world leading mental health charity supporting children and young people.

The inspiration for our manifesto comes from our trailblazing founder who more than 70 years ago challenged the status quo to change how we see children and young people’s mental health forever.

And recent statistics show why action today is more important than ever:

• One in five young people in England has a probable mental health disorder⁴

• Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or with another minoritised sexual identity are over two-and-a-half times more likely to have a mental health problem than those who identify as heterosexual⁵

• The odds of children with special educational needs experiencing a mental health problem are around one and a half to two times higher than that of their peers⁶

• There has been a 48% fall in spending on early intervention services from 2011 to 2020⁷

If we want to truly build the wellbeing of the next generation, we need to harness the goodwill that exists across society to support children and young people’s mental health and align it with what science and data is telling us.

Things will not improve without a change to the norm.

Let’s start with prevention first

We believe the time has come to reset how we approach children and young people’s mental health to close the treatment gap that so negatively impacts their life chances.

We need to make wellbeing the foundation. This means renewing our focus on prevention and early interventions to help children and young people before more expensive specialist care is needed later down the line.

This will not only improve young people’s lives in the short term. It will also help in the long run, too, as studies show mental ill health is linked to reduced school attendance⁸, lower attainment of skills⁹ and lower lifetime earnings¹⁰.

Our plan

Our manifesto calls on political parties, policy makers and funders to help us close the gap in children and young people’s mental health through a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention. Work needs to focus on five key areas:

• Give young people a meaningful say in an expanded approach to prevention services: We need to double the budget currently spent on prevention and co-design solutions with children and young people who have lived experiences of mental ill-health.

• Focus on communities: Increased funding for community assets like parks, sports centres and libraries will build local support networks and improve wellbeing.

• Adopt a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing: This should be underpinned with the promotion of social, emotional and physical development as well as academic achievement, and better training for school staff.

• Widen our collective understanding of childhood trauma: This must include increased spending on developing digital prevention strategies and early intervention services for children and young people impacted by trauma.

• Leverage a more effective use of science and data: Policy makers should adopt a regular nationwide measurement of young people’s mental health and wellbeing and create a single point for children and young people to access resources and services.

Central to all of this should be a commitment to meaningful youth voice. We’ve begun our own journey to improve how we work with young people by launching our Participation Strategy.

What’s next?

We’re proud to share Thinking differently with the world.

Some of our ideas are new, some of them have been around a while. But all of them need to be actioned if we want to make a real difference to children and young people’s mental wellbeing.

This is a watershed moment for Anna Freud as we think differently about the work we do, too, and the impact we have. You can read more about this in our Closing the gap strategy and you can email our team directly to ask us more about our manifesto.

Let’s think differently. Let’s do what matters most. And let’s supercharge change – led by science and guided by young people

References

¹NHS England. (2019).NHS Long Term Plan

²Newlove-Delgado T, Marcheselli F, Williams T, Mandalia D, Dennes M, McManus S, Savic M, Treloar W, Croft K, Ford T. (2023). Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023. NHS England, Leeds

³Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, Performance January 2024. (2024). NHS Digital

⁴Newlove-Delgado T, Marcheselli F, Williams T, Mandalia D, Dennes M, McManus S, Savic M, Treloar W, Croft K, Ford T. (2023). Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023. NHS England, Leeds

⁵Sadler, K., Vizard, T., Ford, T., Marcheselli, F., Pearce, N., Mandalia, D., Davis, J., Brodie, E,. Forbes, N., Goodman, A., Goodman, R., McManus, S. (2018). Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017. NHS Digital, part of the Government Statistical Service

⁶Deighton, J., Lereya, S. T., Casey, P., Patalay, P., Humphrey, N., & Wolpert, M. (2019). Prevalence of mental health problems in schools: poverty and other risk factors among 28 000 adolescents in England.

⁷Williams, M., Franklin, J,. (2021). Children and young people’s services: Spending 2010-11 to 2019-20. Great Britain. Pro Bono Economics

⁸Finning, K., Ford, T., & Moore, D.A. (Eds.). (2022). Mental Health and Attendance at School

⁹Sellers, R., Warne, N., Pickles, A., Maughan, B., Thapar, A., & Collishaw, S. (2019). Cross-cohort change in adolescent outcomes for children with mental health problems.

¹⁰Goodman, A., Joyce, R., & Smith, J. P. (2011). The long shadow cast by childhood physical and mental problems on adult life.