A recent survey of more than 1,000 head teachers has discovered that mental health issues in children are a growing problem.

A recent survey of more than 1,000 head teachers has discovered that mental health issues in children are a growing problem.

The annual survey – conducted by education management support organisation, The Key – discovered that 67 per cent of those in the survey were concerned by the mental health of their pupils, which represents a notable contrast with 2014’s figure of 14 per cent.

The 2015 survey discovered that schools all across England were worried about their pupil’s mental health.

Chief Executive of The Key, Fergal Roche, said of the findings:

“Such widespread concern among school leaders about pupils’ wellbeing should be a wake-up call to society as a whole. Mental health issues, domestic violence, bullying and drugs have implications that reach beyond the school gates, and can seriously impact on the future prospects of those affected.

“The level of concern about pupils’ mental health is particularly worrying, given the recent history of cuts to mental health services.”

As well as mental health issues, head teachers were also concerned about cyber-bullying, obesity and domestic violence.

When looking at who was the most concerned by the problem of domestic violence, the survey showed that head teachers in primary schools were the most concerned, with 70 per cent of the heads claiming to be worried, as opposed to the 47 per cent from secondary schools.

In contrast, secondary school head teachers (74 per cent) were more concerned by cyber-bullying than primary school head teachers (59 per cent).

Just 3 per cent of the head teachers in the survey said that they were concerned by people trafficking and similarly, only 6 per cent said that they were worried about forced marriages.