# Should there be a mental-health professional in every school?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460/should-there-be-a-mental-health-professional-in-every-school
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460/should-there-be-a-mental-health-professional-in-every-school.md
Podcast: [Academy of Ideas](https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460)
Published: 2026-07-10T13:39:00+00:00
Episode link: https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com/e/should-there-be-a-mental-health-professional-in-every-school/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/hb9rxf545yqdgt6y/5_Should_there_be_a_mental_health_professional_in_every_school6hvou.mp3
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Duration seconds: 5618

## Resource

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Saturday 18 October at Church House and the Abbey Centre, Westminster. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION There is no doubt that far too many of our children and young people are not thriving mentally or emotionally in the way that they should be. In 2024, almost 20 per cent of school-aged children in the UK had been diagnosed with a mental-health condition, up from 10 per cent 20 years ago. Meanwhile, the line between ‘learning disabilities’ and ‘mental-health issues’ has also become increasingly blurred. According to the charity ADHD UK, a diagnosis of ADHD is listed as a ‘mental-health disability’ under the Mental Health Act 1990. Over 1.6million pupils in England have been identified as having special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), up 24.9 per cent since 2016, while the number of children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) has risen by an astonishing 83.4 per cent – up 11.6 per cent in the past year alone. The care minister, Stephen Kinnock, has confirmed that the government is committed to its manifesto pledge to put a ‘mental-health practitioner’ into ‘every school in the country’. The idea has widespread support, with the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives offering similar commitments. Already, there have never been so many staff and volunteers working within schools with a specific responsibility for the emotional wellbeing of pupils: senior mental-health leads, educational psychologists, mental-health support teams and more. Access to counselling is available in many schools. Despite this booming school-based ‘mental-health industrial complex’, the wellbeing of pupils continues to deteriorate and rates of ‘mental illness’ continue to rise. However, a recent Family Education Trust report by Lucy Beney…

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