Emotional Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Young People in South Tyneside
Unmet need
When speaking to young people and their families, it is apparent that there was not always an understanding of what services were available, how they can be accessed and what to expect.
Further exploration would be required to understand how inconsistencies across education settings can be reduced to ensure children and young people receive the same messages when accessing support.
A study forecasting (data source: North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board) the effects of COVID-19 and lockdown on children and young people's mental health from 2021 are as follows (these figures are specific to South Tyneside):
Population group | Mental health condition | Calculated predicted new cases of mental health condition |
Children and Young People General population | Post traumatic stress disorder (Range 4.7%-22.9%) | 1,233 |
Depression (1.6%-44.8%) | 4,294 | |
Children and young people experiencing quarantine and social isolation | Depression (10.1% - 81.8%) | 3,541 |
Anxiety (4.2%- 32.3%) | 1,388 | |
Post traumatic stress disorder | 2,963 | |
Bereaved children | Internalising disorder (anxiety and depression) | 9 |
Post traumatic stress disorder | 4 | |
Children who are recovering from severe Covid-19 | Post traumatic stress disorder (5%-28.5%) | 0 |
The forecasting above is not indicative of the number of referrals which have come through the mental health services (final year-end figures for 2023 are not yet known, however, previous years are set out within this document), and the impact on pre-school children who did not have the opportunity to attend pre-school groups to develop social skills, which would need to be considered.
There are opportunities in future planning, to explore how mental health services are aligned and where these could be streamlined to ensure accessibility.
South Tyneside is an outlier in terms of Autism as a primary need for Education Health Care Plan (South Tyneside Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment 2021) and currently the assessments are carried out via Cumbria Northumberland Tyne & Wear (CNTW) Children and Young People's Service (CYPS). There may be opportunities to consider how these assessments are carried out in the future.