Headteacher in South Yorkshire warns student’s mental health is the “worst it has been”

As reported by BBC News, a school in Barnsley has reported that their pupils are struggling more than ever since the pandemic

Claire Huddart, the headteacher at Horizon Community College, has spent more than £500,000 of her school’s budget on mental health support but remains concerned.

Horizon Community College has shown its commitment to student welfare. The half a million-pound has been spent on a state of the art wellbeing centre, where 10 staff work and students are free to drop in throughout the school day.

The South Yorkshire school also offers outside support and the assistance of a Mind councillor. That said, Huddart has warned that more still needs to be done.

“I’ve spent £500,000 on mental health support and it’s not enough” she said.

The number of students visiting the Wellbeing Centre has tripled since the start of the pandemic. As such, the school has called for further government funding specifically targeted at mental health support.

One student who uses the services available at Horizon Community College said “I think every school should have it (wellbeing facilities) mandatory”.

This presents the question, are schools and the government doing enough?

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “We are accelerating and expanding the roll-out of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, giving nearly three million children in England access to health experts through school or college by April 2024.”