Youth Employment UK’s Response to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan discussion paper consultation 2022

From April to July 2022 The Department for Health and Social Care called for evidence and responses to a series of questions to help shape the Government’s mental health and wellbeing plan. The consultation asked the following questions:

1. How can we all promote positive mental wellbeing?
2. How can we all prevent the onset of mental health conditions?
3. How can we all intervene earlier when people need support with their mental health?
4. How can we improve the quality and effectiveness of treatment for mental health?
5. How can we all support people with mental health conditions to live well?
6. How can we all improve support for people in crisis?

Youth Employment UK’s Response

Youth Employment used its insights into the experiences of young people to respond to three questions in the consultation. We drew our responses from findings in our 2021 Youth Voice Census and a Youth Voice session held with our Youth Ambassadors discussing their experiences of mental health and mental health services. Our responses to the questions are below.

How can we improve the wellbeing of children and young people?

Our Findings:

• Anxiety, depression and mental health concerns were in the top five responses for young people in education, looking for work and in work when asked about their barriers in progressing.
• 56.2% of young people looking for work in the 2021 Youth Voice Census stated that coronavirus had impacted their mental health ‘A Lot’ or ‘A Great Deal’
• 81.9% of young people told us through the 2021 Youth Voice Census they do not feel they have a place to share their views on important topics.

Our Recommendations:

• The government should provide more spaces, both in school and the wider community, where young people can share and express how they feel. Feeling heard is important to young people and helps to foster a feeling of belonging and inclusivity.
• Make it a legal requirement for schools to check in with students a set amount of times each academic year to see how they are feeling and ensure their mental wellbeing is being looked after.

How can we support different sectors within local areas to work together, and with people within their local communities, to improve the populations’ wellbeing?

Our Findings:

• 56% of respondents in the 2021 Youth Voice Census identified improved mental health and wellbeing as a benefit of undertaking extra curricular activities.
• The Youth Voice census found that only 23.7% of young people thought they could access support for their mental health where they live and this decreased by 8% for those with additional needs.

Our Recommendations:

• The government should ensure there is sufficient funding for more youth clubs in local areas to address the increasing mental health issues amongst children and young people.
• There should be more work done to better connect local youth clubs and local schools in the area to ensure young people are aware of the support available to them.
• Mental health providers should go into schools and provide talks/lectures for young people and make them aware of places in their local area they can go to access mental health support.

Please share your ideas of how employers can support and protect the mental health of their employees?

Our Findings:

• Only 1.5% of young people said their employer provides mental health support.
• 29% of young people who responded to the Youth Voice Census 2021 ‘Agreed’ or ‘Strongly Agreed’ that they struggle with their wellbeing at work.
• Young people told us through the 2021 Youth Voice Census that only 9.9% of them feel confident they will find a good quality job where they live.

Our Recommendations:

• More workplaces need to have someone who is a mental health first aider, so they can help support employees and make them feel safe.
• More needs to be done to make young people aware of existing mental health services young people can access through their workplace.
• Young people should have access to regular check-ins with line managers and be signposted to organisations who specialise in providing mental health where appropriate.
• Employers should implement the Good Youth Employment Charter in their workplace to make sure they are abiding by the principles to ensure they are providing good quality work for young people and removing barriers to work.
• Employers should ensure line managers are provided with training to support younger members of staff.