The headteacher of a school in Yorkshire has made a plea for help after 12 children have attempted to take their own life in just two months. The suicide attempts have happened since September, as pupils and teachers struggle with a surge in mental health issues.
Councillors at a meeting held in East Riding heard Hornsea Secondary School had seen a disturbing rise in pupils self-harming and with eating disorders, as well as children dealing with domestic violence and drug or alcohol abuse at home. Headteacher Steve Ostler said safeguarding cases had more than doubled since the coronavirus pandemic with 265 cases being dealt with since the school year started just two months ago, Hull Live has reported.
Council public health lead Andy Kingdom said the situation would likely worsen during winter and the councillors heard the growing concern at Hornsea was reflected across schools in East Yorkshire. They also heard school funding had not increased to combat the rise in mental health problems in children.
Councillors heard that, in the seven weeks since the start of this academic year in September, 26 Hornsea Secondary School pupils were referred because of home issues like domestic violence. A total of 12 children made a serious attempt to end their own life and there was also an increase in pupils self-harming who needed hospital treatment as a result.
The school has also seen an increase in anorexia and other eating disorders. Individual safeguarding cases included one pupil who was found to be self-harming, which had gotten worse during the half-term holiday.
Another child came to school with a facial injury which is believed to have happened at home. One pupil said they were concerned about their mother's mental health while another also said they were suffering because of their parents' alcohol and cocaine abuse.
One child approached safeguarding teams after their mother had an overdose. Mr Ostler said were increasingly having to pick up the pieces as the fallout from the pandemic and the cost of living impacts children.
He added the situation was becoming more challenging and was not just confined to Hornsea but was affecting all schools. Mr Ostler said: "This is what school staff are dealing with now and education is almost being pushed to the backbenches.
"There's a bulge of children who are now in very difficult situations and the effects of that are being pushed into schools. I think we're going to see more issues like domestic violence at home as money becomes tighter and we're facing our own significant financial pressures.
"What we're trying to do is to get back to normal as quickly as possible by getting school trips, visits, concerns and other events back up and running."
Mr Rush said the challenge facing schools was severe and the statistics from Hornsea Secondary School were cause for alarm. The director said: "This is something schools don't want to be facing, especially in the current climate.
"Headteachers are shot through with a determination to keep going and we need to continue our partnership with them because this isn't just the responsibility of schools. We have to try and intervene earlier and work to create a climate where pupils can feel a sense of optimism.
"Pupils have had an understandable reaction to the very odd experience of the pandemic and families have been and are under intense pressure."
Meanwhile, another school in Bridlington is now taking part in a pilot scheme to host a mental health and wellbeing professional on-site to deal with the increase in safety and welfare issues.
Mr Kingdom said officials across the public sector needed to work as hard as they had during the pandemic to weather the worsening of the situation. The director said: "There are some dark clouds coming our way, winter is going to make the conditions of living worse.
"The conditions which create positive mental health are reducing and those which create negative mental health are increasing."
Council figures also show the number of children eligible for free school meals in the East Riding area has also risen from around 6,000 before the pandemic to 8,500, an indicator that more are living with the stress of poverty.
