New Evidence Is Clear: Good Childhood Mental Health Shapes Lifelong Outcomes
Each August, hundreds of thousands of young people across England await GCSE results, a milestone that can shape future opportunities. Yet a growing mental health crisis is affecting children long before they reach exam halls. In 2024/25, more than one million children had active referrals to NHS mental health services, the highest number on record, with over a third still waiting for treatment. Around one in five children aged 8 to 16 are living with a probable mental health condition.
As need continues to outpace support, the challenge is not choosing between academic success and wellbeing. The evidence increasingly shows they are closely connected.
New research funded by City Bridge Foundation and delivered by children's mental health charity Place2Be found a clear link between improved mental health and better GCSE outcomes. The longitudinal study examined the impact of one-to-one counselling in London schools and found that children who received support experienced significant and sustained improvements in their mental health.
Good mental health underpins learning, attendance, behaviour and long-term outcomes. PBE's report The Happy Childhood Dividend estimates that improving children's mental health could generate £51 billion in lifetime economic benefits across today's school-aged population through higher attainment, reduced exclusions and lower demand for additional support. By combining this evidence with Place2Be's counselling outcomes, researchers estimated that improved mental health could contribute to an increase in GCSE attainment of almost half a grade.
These findings strengthen the case for early intervention, particularly through schools, as a way to improve both individual outcomes and wider social and economic prosperity.
Yet support too often arrives only when difficulties have reached crisis point. The recent Milburn Review highlighted the need to invest earlier in children's lives, particularly as increasing numbers of young people cite mental health challenges as a factor in becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training).
At a time when policymakers are focused on evidence-based reforms to education and opportunity, the implications are significant. Timely, embedded support in schools helps children develop the social and emotional skills needed to manage their mental health throughout life. Scaling proven approaches through partnerships between schools, health services and local organisations can improve life chances while delivering measurable social and economic returns.
Further Place2Be research in Greater Manchester found that embedded whole-school mental health provision reduced behavioural issues and suspensions, increased staff confidence and reduced stigma. Ninety-five per cent of staff reported a good understanding of the relationship between children's mental health and behaviour. The research also found evidence that early support can reduce escalation to specialist services, highlighting the value of prevention over crisis intervention.
These findings point to the importance of joined-up support across health and education. Voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations can play a vital role in delivering specialist services, while philanthropic investment can help scale effective local partnerships. Mental health professionals embedded within schools can support children directly, while also building the confidence and skills of school staff, parents and carers.
Although Mental Health Support Teams are expected to reach all schools, they currently focus primarily on low-to-moderate needs and are not usually embedded within school communities. This leaves many children in the "missing middle" whose needs are too complex for MHSTs but do not meet the threshold for specialist CAMHS support.
Catherine Roche, CEO of Place2Be, said: "Our work shows that with the right support in place, children can thrive emotionally and academically, and the benefits stay with them over time. We need joined-up investment across health and education so more children can access the right support before problems escalate."
As students collect their GCSE results this summer, we should ask not only how they performed academically, but whether they received the support needed to thrive. Success is not determined solely by what happens in an exam hall. It is also shaped by whether children feel seen, heard and supported throughout their school journey.
With more than one million children seeking mental health support, the evidence is clear. Children's mental health cannot remain an afterthought. Early intervention works. The question is whether we are prepared to invest in it at the scale children deserve.
Catherine Roche is the Chief Executive of Place2Be. She began her career in teaching before completing an MBA and joining KPMG. Her pro bono support for Place2Be from 1996 inspired her to join the charity as Chief Operating Officer in 2003 and then Deputy CEO. In 2014 she became Chief Executive and has led the organisation’s development since then. Catherine served on the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network Board for six years from 2019. She is also a school governor of her local secondary school and a non-Executive Director of GoodCorporation.
