Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation commented on the 2017 Mental Health of Children and Young People in England survey:
"We welcome the publication of this new set of data, which is long overdue. This information is vital for policy makers and services and needs to be more frequently available: at least every five years.
"The growth in emotional disorders in children between 2004 and 2017 is a serious cause for concern. The findings in new categories such as the prevalence of mental disorders in two to four year olds as well as 17 to 19 year olds show new areas of risk and evidence of distress, which are important to understand and to track. So much has changed in our society and technologically over the past 14 years, we must not let another 14 years go by before the next survey.
"Today's prevalence figures show what many have been saying for some time: some groups in society are more likely to be affected by mental health disorders. Those most at risk of mental disorders are children from low-income households, children whose parents have poor mental health or are in receipt of a disability payment, and 14 to 19 year olds who identified as LGBTQ."
"We need to support the children who are most vulnerable while making children and young people's mental health a consistently high priority, and everyone's business. Until we address inequalities and ensure a consistent culture of prevention for all children, young people and their families, we will keep failing the next generation right at the start of their lives."
Mental Health Foundation campaign: Make it Count
More and more schoolchildren are struggling to cope with their mental health. Amidst rising rates of depression, anxiety and self-harm in children and young people, we are launching our new Make it Count campaign, because mental health is not extracurricular.