Back to School Advice: Confidence & Dealing with Anxiety

Is the crippling anxiety over exams what we want for our children?

The driving despair that has foreshadowed A-level results may well be a price too high

Ecstasy after the agony: A-level students for whom the effort paid off Photo: Christopher Pledger/The Telegraph

Today is a big day at Pearson Towers and in homes across the land. The Daughter will get her A-level results, which should be nerve-wracking, only the anxiety has been superseded by a deeper dread.

For today is also the day she goes in for an operation. “Look on the bright side, Mum, I won’t be upset if I don’t get the A in History because I’ll be unconscious,” she says, trying to joke away our fears, hers and mine. We know the surgeon is among the best in the country, we know the procedure should be relatively straightforward. We know that in 10 days she should be better, much better, than she has been for years. We know, we know, but no one wants their child put to sleep, do they?

And yet, in some bizarre way, I realise that I am almost grateful for the fact of the surgery. My child’s vulnerability has blunted the claws of the nightmare Tiger Mother I know I would have been given half a chance. It has taught me perspective, which is seriously lacking in an age obsessed with exam grades and league tables, itself a kind of national sickness for which there is only one known cure: AAA.

One 19-year-old who will not be opening her results with trepidation this morning is Amy Latham. A couple of months ago, it was reported that Amy, a pupil at the Queen Elizabeth School in Wimborne, Dorset, appeared to have killed herself while suffering dreadful anxiety over A-levels. In the weeks before her disappearance, Amy had expressed fears about her exams on social media. On June 5, she posted on Twitter: “Option 1: stay in, cry over Macbeth notes, fail English A-level Option 2: go out, cry over ignored responsibilities, fail English A-level.” On May 15, she said: “Someone kill me before I f--- up my English exam for the second time.”

Those tweets make me want to weep. For one thing, a young woman who could come up with Options 1 and 2 had no difficulties with English. Even in her dread, Amy was wittily alert to the cruel irony of her situation. She sounds fabulous. How could a bright young woman like that be so terrified of messing up her A-level that she chose to hang herself? Let me try and guess.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11031251/Is-the-crippling-anxiety-over-exams-what-we-want-for-our-children.html

Primary school children should have therapy to cut anxiety, say scientists at University of Exeter

       Children as young as nine would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, scientists said

Children as young as nine should receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in school to help them combat anxiety, scientists say.

New research from the Universities of Exeter, Bath, Cardiff and Oxford found such prevention programmes “significantly reduce” anxiety symptoms in Year Five pupils.

The study, of more than 1,300 youngsters aged between nine and ten, also highlighted the benefits of CBT lessons in the classroom for all children – regardless of their anxiety level.

Researchers say the issue is “very common” in children, with 10% affected by an anxiety disorder by the age of 16.

Lessons in CBT involve teaching pupils how to identify and manage their emotions, replace anxious thoughts and develop problem-solving skills to cope with anxiety provoking situations.

Lead author Professor Paul Stallard, of the University of Bath’s Department for Health, said introducing the lessons would be a proactive, preventative approach.

“Schools provide a convenient location to deliver emotional health prevention programmes for children,” Prof Stallard said.

“Whilst there are a number of school based programmes, few have been scientifically evaluated to determine what effect they have on children’s emotional health.

“The results of our study are very encouraging and show that FRIENDS, a CBT programme, teaches children skills to effectively manage their anxiety.”

In the project, Preventing Anxiety in Children through Education in Schools, the researchers conducted a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of CBT lessons for 9-10-year-olds.

The researchers enrolled 1,362 pupils from 40 state schools in the South West and followed them for one year.

School year groups were assigned to receive either classroom-based CBT lessons led by teachers, CBT lessons led by health facilitators or standard school provision.

Schools classed as following “standard school provision” were those following social and emotional aspects of learning currently within the curriculum.

Pupils were given nine hour-long CBT lessons, which were provided to whole classes as part of the school curriculum.

Results showed the most effective method of reducing anxiety occurred when external health facilitators conducted the lessons, rather than teachers.

Both children with low and high levels of anxiety saw a reduction in their symptoms in the 12 months of the study.

In the study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, the authors write: “Universally delivered programmes offer the potential to reduce present symptoms, enhance overall emotional wellbeing, and potentially shift population means over time.

“Our findings support this theory and show that children in the low-anxiety health-led FRIENDS group showed markedly lower anxiety symptoms at 12 months than did those in the usual school provision group.

“Because fears, anxiety and stress are common in children, anxiety prevention programmes might be especially suited to universal delivery.

“However, our data suggests that the same programme can result in different effects depending on those who deliver it.”

The team are now assessing whether reductions in anxiety are maintained after the children transfer to secondary school.

Professor Harry Daniels, from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford added: “These are important findings.

“The intervention offers an affordable and practical response to the challenges of promoting emotional health in schools.

“The need to improve the mental health of children is being increasingly recognised as a global priority given the associated health risks, and the economic and social costs, if such anxieties are not dealt with early on.”

Classroom-based cognitive therapy (FRIENDS): a cluster randomised controlled trial to Prevent Anxiety in Children through Education in Schools was published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Primary-school-children-therapy-cut-anxiety-say/story-21656914-detail/story.html

Head teachers' concern over pupil anxiety

The Key says mental health is not an issue teachers can ignore

A poll of more than 1,000 heads by the school leaders' network, The Key, found 64% saw pupil depression as a concern.

In total, 80% of secondary school heads expressed concern about self-harming.

The Key says delays in getting young people referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) is of particular concern.

The survey of 1,131 head teachers also found:

• 41% expressed concern about eating disorders among pupils in their school (32% in primary schools and 55% in secondary schools)

• 51% expressed concern about self-harm among pupils in their school (33% in primary schools and 80% in secondary schools)

• Of those who made a referral to Camhs, 45% had to wait between one and three months for the case to be followed up, 26% had to wait three to six months and 9% had to wait more than six months

Amy Cook, senior researcher at The Key specialising in pupil well-being says: "The impact of council budget cuts on Camhs means that the job of nurturing pupils' mental health is increasingly falling to schools.

"And since our ability to take in new information can be significantly affected by our mental health, it's not an issue that teachers can ignore.

"These figures emphasise both the current strains on the mental health system and the pressures felt by school staff, many of whom don't always have the means or training to properly address these issues."

Budgets

Provision of mental health services for young people varies widely across England, with entry-level care largely funded by local authorities which are facing budget cuts.

According to research by the charity Young Minds, more than half of councils have cut or frozen budgets for child and adolescent mental health.

Mental health services account for 10% of the total NHS budget, with just 6% of this earmarked for Camhs, it says.

The survey found head teachers were concerned about levels of depression in children

Responding to The Key poll, Lucie Russell, director of campaigns at the mental health charity Young Minds said: "Sadly, these figures are not a surprise.

"Schools tell us they want more mental health support to help provide care for their pupils. With cuts to children's mental health services up and down the country services are really struggling to cope with demand.

"Mental health spending needs to be prioritised, it is a national disgrace that just 0.6% of the NHS budget is committed to Camhs when statistically three in every classroom will have a diagnosable mental health problem."

'Fragmented system'

The Local Government Association (LGA) said councils were overstretched and it wanted to see a "complete overhaul" of the system.

David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said: "Councils have worked hard to protect the many services they provide for vulnerable children but in the face of 40% cuts to local government, this has becoming increasingly challenging.

"Local authorities have serious concerns about mental health funding for children and want a complete overhaul of the fragmented and complex system that they currently face each day when trying to access services delivered by the NHS and other partners.

"It is absolutely crucial that the whole system is properly funded, resourced and joined up to ensure young people receive the very best services available."

The Key, founded in 2007 as part of a government-funded initiative to support schools in England, brings together school leaders from across the country to share practical ideas and experience.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27993469