To help address these short- and long-term effects, the research team has set out potential solutions that can be put into place within schools, mental health services, and the wider policy and practice environment. They suggest:Equipping school staff to normalise conversations about mental health to identify who needs helpTaking a ‘whole school approach’ to children’s mental health that involves parents, carers, public health teams, governors and teachers. Professor Craig Morgan, Co-director of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, said: 'There is currently widespread concern about the mental health of young people. The findings are set out in a new policy briefing jointly produced by the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, Emerging Minds, and The Policy Institute. The lab was held as the culminating event of a conference on youth mental health and COVID-19 and participants included policymakers, academics, representatives from schools and wider society, young people, including those with lived experience of mental health issues, parents and carers.
