Struggling mental health system 'leaves teachers to pick up pieces'

Teachers are picking up the pieces of the deepening crisis in children and young people's mental health, with many regularly helping pupils in distress on top of their classroom duties.

- Denis Campbell

Three in four teachers put a pupil's psychological needs ahead of teaching at least once a week, with one in five saying they do this daily.

This can mean breaking off from lessons to help a young person in distress or making adjustments in class for them. Teachers also say an average of almost one in four (24%) of their pupils need mental health support, according to a survey by the charity Young Minds, which questioned 1,002 primary and secondary school teachers in Britain.