This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
STRESS experienced in schools and colleges is a key factor in rising levels of mental ill health, transport union RMT warned yesterday.
Successive governments have made schools “more exams-focused and more disciplinarian” and have pushed colleges and university students into debt, the union told the TUC Young Workers’ Conference.
RMT’s young members often study alongside work and cited figures that show mental health problems affect one in 10 children and young people.
In 2015, 231 young people aged 10-19 took their own lives, making it the most common cause of death for the age group in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Reception teacher Hannah Amos said her heart breaks for her students already facing pressure.
“We have children taking SATs exams in year six, missing out on subjects such as physical education and ICT just to fit into a ticked box,” she said.
Many local authorities have cut early intervention services, family counselling and school-based programmes due to inadequate funding.
