20th April 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Teachers have told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers that children as young as six are developing mental health problems as a result of stress caused by exams. Half of 420 teachers who were polled by the union responded to say that they were aware of pupils in their school self-harming, and 89% of teachers said that testing was the principle source of students’ stress. Some teachers reported to ATL that some of their students had attempted suicide, citing unbearable pressure from school exams. 18 of the students who were reported to have attempted suicide were primary school students.
Teachers told ATL’s annual conference that the pressure placed on children was excessive, and doing significant damage to students’ mental health. They cited excessive testing at primary school level, and said that the government’s emphasis on testing was damaging children from a young age. Teachers at the conference said that mental health issues were the single biggest barriers to academic progress, with many reporting significant increases in the numbers of students with severe anxiety and depression. School heads said that pastoral care staff were struggling to cope with the increased number of vulnerable students.
The Department for Education said that it was up to schools to ensure that pupils received adequate support at times of stress. They insisted that tests are a key part of ensuring that students mastered the skills they needed to succeed, and called on schools to do more to support students. They added that funding for children’s mental health services would be increased, with an emphasis on units tackling eating disorders. However, teaching unions have said that improving mental health services doesn’t address the underlying problem, which is pressure students experience as part of the most tested generation in English history.