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State of Child Health 2026: Mental health

Health Policy team
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This indicator explores the prevalence of mental health conditions in children and young people. Comparisons across the UK are challenging due to the lack of routine, standardised data collection that enables consistent tracking of trends over time.
Last updated
Post date
14 July 2026
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Contents

This is one of 12 indicators in our State of Child Health resource.

What is the problem?

When the first State of Child Health was published in 2017, wellbeing more broadly, rather than specifically mental health, was evaluated as an indicator. In this update mental health has been pulled out as a specific indicator, indicative of the fact that, across the UK, mental health problems among children and young people are both widespread and increasing. Ensuring timely, accessible mental health support is crucial, as early intervention significantly improves mental health and wellbeing outcomes.

In England, the proportion of children and young people seen by the NHS assessed to have ‘probable’ mental health disorder, indicating symptoms requiring prompt support and treatment, has increased year on year for the last decade in both girls and boys.

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In the 2020 State of Child Health update, we reported that the proportion of children and young people with a ‘probable’ mental health disorder had increased 1.5% over the last decade. By 2023, the rate had increased by a further 7.8% among 8-16-year-olds, from 12.5% to 20.3%. Over the same period, the proportion of those assessed to have ‘possible’ (less severe) mental health disorders has remained broadly stable since 2020, indicating that the increase is being driven by a rise in more severe mental health problems among children and young people.

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In 2023, there was a decline in the proportion of young people in England able to access support through school when compared with 2022, falling from 59.8% to 53.1% among those with a probable mental health disorder.

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The number of young people missing up to five days of school due to a probable mental health disorder has steadily increased over the past three years, though numbers missing over six and over 15 days has decreased, which may account for some of the increase in the 1-5 days category. Children and young people have reported that often, school is not a place they feel safe to express their mental health difficulties and don’t feel that teachers are equipped to support them.

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In Wales, the proportion of 8-24 years olds estimated to have a mental health condition has doubled over the past 20 years, increasing from 1 in 10 in 2004 to 1 in 5 in 2023, with prevalence increasing with age.1

Children and young people living in socioeconomic deprivation are more likely to experience mental health problems.2 Higher rates are also seen among care givers,3 refugees and asylum seekers,4 individuals who identify as LGBT,5  children with disability6 and looked after children.  There are also differences in both rates and severity of mental health problems between young people across ethnic groups.

Why does it matter?

As with other chronic conditions, mental health problems can lead to significant absences from school, limiting access to the educational and social benefits that schooling provides.7 This can adversely affect a child’s long-term educational attainment and life opportunities.8

Furthermore, more than half of mental health problems in adulthood start by the age of 14, impacting lifelong mental health, developmental outcomes, physical health and quality of life.9 Without effective early detection and intervention, these mental health problems may result in long-term consequences for the individual and the economy.

Drivers of poor outcomes

Poverty is both a driver of poor mental health and a barrier to accessing care.10 Experiences of childhood trauma, including parental mental illness, as well as social isolation, loneliness, and bullying, are factors which can affect a child or young person’s mental health.11

Neurodivergence can also be a significant factor; for example, 70% of children with autism experience at least one other mental health condition.12 The COVID-19 pandemic also seems to have had a significant impact on children and young people’s mental health, including a marked increase in eating disorders.13

Living with a chronic illness is another risk factor driving poor mental health. Children and young people with chronic conditions may experience bullying and miss multiple days of schooling due to their illness, which can also impact their social development.14

Online harms are an increasingly pervasive and under-reported contributing factor to poor mental health. Exposure to cyberbullying, harmful or age-inappropriate content, and high levels of screen use has been associated with negative impacts on wellbeing, including self-esteem, sleep, and body image. Online environments may also exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, particularly among those children and young people experiencing social isolation or poor mental health.15

Why we need to act now

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), neurodevelopmental, and community paediatric services across the UK are under sustained pressure, driven by rising demand and multiple longstanding systemic challenges. Services are overwhelmed, with many children and young people unable to access the support they need, and the situation continues to worsen.

Support for families remains under-resourced, and significant variation in provision across health boards continues to limit equitable access to care. As a result, children and young people across the UK are unable to meet their full potential and face a lifetime of challenges. This also carries substantial economic costs to the public purse due to the long-term expense of treatment and the impact of individuals being unable to fully participate in education, employment or training.16

A paediatrician's insight

From Dr Samantha Jones, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine and RCPCH Officer for Mental Health 

Your experience of supporting and/or treating children and young people with poor mental health - has anything changed over time?

"I have worked in children’s emergency departments for the past 25 years and there has been a dramatic change over this time in children and young people (CYP) presenting in mental health distress. There has been a clear increase in those presenting in crisis, often now being younger in age and more complex in presentation. Many are neurodivergent (or awaiting assessment) and some are in the care system and brought to emergency departments following placement breakdown.

"More CYP than ever before are being admitted with mental health and social/emotional needs, and there has been a notable increase in admissions for medical treatment of underlying eating disorder/disordered eating. Their admissions are often prolonged, and even when there is no physical or mental health need to remain in hospital their discharge can be complex. Demand for assessment also now outstrips capacity, resulting in difficulties for families in accessing appropriate support. This increases family stress and, in some cases, leads to family crisis and breakdown."

What have the challenges been to supporting children and young people with poor mental health - what contributes to this or keeps them returning to the NHS for support? 

"As a predominantly physical-health trained workforce, colleagues often feel underprepared to manage the increasing complexity of children and young people presenting in mental health crisis and overwhelmed by the numbers requiring support. They feel unable to keep patients safe in environments not built for purpose, and it can be challenging to care for children, young people and families who are often frustrated, disillusioned and at breaking point.

"CYP and families turn to health services as a place of safety, but often also as a last resort. They report having tried to get support elsewhere, not feeling listened to or understood, and attend in despair. Their children are often on waiting lists or are known to services, but support feels insufficient or too late. A further challenge is the absence of robust data. Although CYP present to health services across all four nations, current data likely under-represents the true scale, capturing only a fraction of those affected. This makes planning and allocating resource difficult and contributes to CYP and families feeling unheard."

Any examples of good practice to tackle the growing number of children and young people with poor mental health that you have been part of or aware?

"The strongest examples of good practice involve joined-up working and collaboration. Locally, we work closely with CAMHS and local authorities, meeting monthly on operational and strategic issues. This has enabled CAMHS and local authority teams to work together to provide education, training and support to carers in residential facilities.

"CAMHS have also worked with emergency department staff to provide alternative pathways for children and young people presenting with lower-level needs, enabling triage within two hours from their own homes rather than long waits in the emergency department. For in-patients, a joint CAMHS/paediatric eating disorder service, engaging the wider MDT from both the physical and mental health specialties, has led to fewer admissions shorter stays, reduced use of the Mental Health Act, and a reduction in feeding under restraint.

"Nationally, the introduction of Mental Health Champions in acute trusts enabled senior clinicians to develop local systems and strategies to care for CYP with mental health concerns while sharing, through a network of Mental Health Champions, ideas and successful strategies to enable learning from best practice across England. Although funding for this role has ceased, the need remains, and we must continue developing and delivering the good practice that has already started.

"From a training perspective, the paediatric curriculum now better integrates physical and mental health needs. The Children and Young People’s Acute Psychiatric and Psychosocial Emergencies (CYP APEx) course provides a standardised and shared approach to supporting CYP in mental distress, with the aim of being rolled out across the UK and internationally."

Any advice you'd give to paediatricians that would help prevent/support poor mental health?

"We all meet these children and young people in our wards, clinics and emergency departments, and they have asked us to hold their mental health on an equal footing with their physical health, and we need to hear them.

"Firstly, we must accept that this is part of being a paediatrician, and we should learn and understand it accordingly. Secondly, recognising paediatricians are not expected to become mental health experts, but instead do what we do best – listen, communicate, work with patients and families, and collaborate with CAMHS and others. Thirdly, consider what you can do locally: structure clinics differently, provide “quieter spaces”, develop alternative pathways and advocate for children in what is often an adult centred system.

"Finally, remember you are not alone: join up with local colleagues, join national networks, or develop mental health interest groups within the places you work – we achieve so much more when we put our work together."

Recommendations

England
  • Ensure children's community-based mental health services receive equitable investment through Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), ensuring these services are accessible, age-appropriate, inclusive of the vital support provided by third sector organisations, and equipped to address emerging challenges such as the impact of online harms on young people’s wellbeing.
  • Fulfil the ambition for all pupils to have access to mental health support by 2029-30 by ensuring every educational setting is supported by adequately funded and trained mental health professionals.
  • Increase funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to improve access to support, reduce waiting times, particularly in acute care settings, and prevent children from reaching crisis while awaiting care.
Scotland
  • Introduce statutory provisions to guarantee a protected increase in CAMHS funding above the current 1%, with the aim of improving access, reducing waiting times, and preventing children and young people from reaching crisis point while waiting for support.
  • Expand and sustain investment in community-based mental health services, ensuring these services are accessible, age-appropriate, and inclusive of the vital support provided by third sector organisations.
  • Establish a fully resourced national neurodevelopmental pathway for children and young people that ensures timely access to support, addressing variation in local delivery and staffing, and providing consistent, multidisciplinary care across Scotland.
  • Improve crisis and acute care by ensuring paediatric and emergency settings are safe, therapeutic, and responsive to children in acute mental distress, and end unsuitable placements so that no young person is sent far from home or placed in an adult ward due to a lack of appropriate local services.
Wales
  • Ensure the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025-2035 is implemented, with annual reporting on progress to improve children’s mental health.
  • Increase funding to expand early mental health support, including funding to expand coverage of School-In Reach teams to every school and college, supporting vulnerable children and reducing rates of persistent school absences.
  • Increase funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to improve access to support, reduce long waits for care, and prevent children from reaching crisis point while awaiting care.
  • Ensure early intervention and support is in place to deliver timely access to neurodevelopmental services.
Northern Ireland
  • Implement a coordinated, multi-agency model to address fragmented pathways and inconsistent access, including full and urgent delivery of the Northern Ireland Mental Health Strategy 2021–2031, supported with multi-year funding and cross government prioritisation of children’s mental health.
  • Address long waiting lists, workforce retention challenges, and variability between Trusts by ensuring statutory mental health services, including CAMHS and Eating Disorder Services, receive funding proportionate to the child health population as outlined in the Northern Ireland Mental Health Strategy.
  • Strengthen specialist pathways for children with additional vulnerabilities including learning disabilities, neurodevelopmental needs, co-occurring substance use, children in care and children engaged in the youth justice system.
  • Address data and accountability gaps through transparent waiting time standards, regular public reporting, and independent monitoring of progress against the Mental Health Strategy.

This is one of 12 indicators in our State of Child Health resource.