The chief economist at the Bank of England has backed the use of counselling services for primary school children, arguing there is a strong economic case for investment in early intervention to improve mental health in later life.
Andy Haldane, who is more commonly found grappling with interest rates and quantitative easing, has helped produce a report that suggests early mental health intervention in primary schools could lead to a sixfold return on the investment.
Haldane is co-founder and trustee at Pro Bono Economics, which uses economic analysis to help charities and social enterprises understand and improve their impact. In this capacity he has contributed to a report for Place2Be, a school-based mental health charity that offers one-to-one counselling sessions for pupils.
The Pro Bono Economics study analysed the improvement in mental health of pupils from 251 primary schools, covering 4,548 children who had received one-to-one support from Place2Be counsellors in 2016-17.
It calculated that for every £1 invested out of a total of £4.2m, Place2Be’s counselling service had the potential to deliver a £6.20 societal return – £25.9m in total – by improving long-term outcomes for each child.
Haldane said: “An estimated one in 10 children and young people in the UK have a mental health condition. Without effective intervention, these conditions can have a significant impact on their life chances and result in significant long-term costs.
“These costs arise from a range of adverse outcomes for the individual, such as reduced earnings and increased government spending on education, social care, and youth and criminal justice.”
The report calculates the potential benefit of Place2Be’s counselling service at £5,700 per child, of which just under 63% (£3,568) is attributed mainly to a child’s higher lifetime earnings from increased employment and higher wages. More than a third (£2,050 per child) represents savings to government due to increased tax revenue and lower spending on service such as health and criminal justice.
The findings come at a time when many headteachers say they are having to cut pastoral care and mental health support in schools because of budget constraints. According to Department for Education research, 56% of primary schools offer counselling services, compared with 84% of secondary schools.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of National Association of Head Teachers, said: “[School leaders] are doing everything they can to give the children in their care the support they need, but it is becoming harder and harder as funding and resources get cut both for schools and for specialist mental health services.
“This research shows so clearly the positive impact early help can have, for individuals and for society. It would be a sensible investment for the government to fully fund a universal rollout of mental health and wellbeing support in all schools.”