“The School System as it is Now is Quite Simply Not Conducive to Good Mental Health”
Anna Blewett has been investigating education’s most notoriously volatile year group – Year 9 – and her discoveries could change your life…
- by Anna Blewett
For a moment, shut your eyes and recall the last time you found yourself physically carried along on a wave of humanity. Adults outside this great profession might recall a triumphant crowd-surf at a brilliant gig, or a glühwein-fuelled scrum during late-night shopping. Teachers, though, are likely to call to mind a less glamorous endeavour: the vain attempt to open a set of double doors amid a full stampede of Year 9s.
Just what is it about this legendary tribe of schoolchildren that makes them so utterly infuriating to teach; so prone to emotional outbursts, inappropriate crushes and diva strops?
“To me, the crucial thing is the stage they’re at on the curriculum,” ponders educational psychologist Dr Jeremy Swinson. “For the first couple of years in secondary school they’re rather overawed by the size of the place and variety of teachers. And in Years 10 and 11 things are very focused towards GCSEs, so teachers place a lot of emphasis on the structure of the teaching. But at Year 9 a lot of hormonal changes are happening…”
Biological imperatives
Ah yes, the hormones. “Remember what adolescence is about,” counsels neurologist Dr Liat Levita. “It’s a period we see across many species – chimpanzees, lions, etc. – when the youngster moves away from the ‘nest’ to establish its own independence.
Of course, that has an element of risk: so you need to be less fearful, a little sensation-seeking and curious. The important thing to remember is those changes aren’t negative; this is actually a normal developmental period that fulfills a very important function for later adult life.”
You hear that? All that blazer-throwing at third-floor windows and dare-fuelled yelling out in assembly is part of a biological masterplan. In fact, Dr Levita’s lab at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Psychology is currently exploring ‘normal’ neural development in teenage years, testing the theory that this sensitive period of time has massive potential for setting youngsters on their path in life.
“At this age the brain is very plastic, so like any young thing that grows it can be vulnerable to risk factors,” warns Liat. “If you have early-life stress or trauma, or you come into adolescence with some issues from early development, that is a lethal cocktail. Yes, most adolescents will explore – but some will be more vulnerable at this stage to explore things from which there is no return.”
So the setting pupils find themselves in could make or break their fate? “Very much so,” states Liat. “There’s a lot of evidence to support that.” Let’s take a moment to let that sink in. Even your stroppiest, most foul-mouthed detention-beggar – indeed, perhaps this pupil in particular – is incredibly vulnerable to signals in the treatment they receive from their peers and their (however unwitting) mentors.
“The important thing to remember is that all behaviour is a communication of something that is going on for that young person,” says Hannah Kinsey of advocacy charity Young Minds. “And until that young person gets some help or support that behaviour isn’t going to change.”
As Dr Levite concludes, with a deep sigh, “the school system as it is now is not conducive to good mental health, either in early adolescence or in later adulthood.”
Welfare support
This is heavy stuff. But if you feel improving the emotional wellbeing of your most raucous, anxiety-dream-inducing students is a little beyond your pay scale, you’re not alone.
Carl Smith, principal at Casterton College in Rutland, has essentially lifted the pastoral needs of pupils from his teachers’ job spec. “Year heads will report very high levels of stress because their job is pretty much impossible,” he states. “To manage the demands of teaching and welfare is too much; they aren’t trained for it and don’t have the time to be trained for it.”
Unusually candid, you might think. Well get a load of this. Casterton has done away with year heads entirely. “I don’t put them in that position,” says Carl. “We have a separate team of qualified counsellors and careers officers – specialists in their field – who look after the wellbeing and personal development of all our students,” he explains. “Year 9, at that difficult age, have full access to that support, and I think it makes a significant difference.”
This crack team of student services personnel may sound like the creation of a public school head with a healthy budget to spend – but in fact, Casterton is a state secondary where per-pupil funding is “well below the national average”. What’s more, Carl’s way of working has delivered a Progress 8 score of 0.52, putting it in the top five percent nationally.
“I’ve deliberately created a structure that’s like a massive primary school because I believe secondary schools lose the capacity to engage in a sensitive and supportive way,” he points out. “That’s a profound mistake.” So could this model really be applied more broadly? “Completely. Absolutely,” says Carl. “Academically, our students are bang on the national average when they walk in the door.”
Trust matters
“Some schools are really good at providing little havens for kids in school,” agrees Dr Swinson. “There are nurture groups and lunchtime clubs to cater for their social and emotional needs.” However, he still has concerns about the lack of psychiatric services for young people.
“If things get serious, for example when kids start showing onset of behaviours like self-harming, or eating disorders (often but not exclusively girls), there isn’t the depth of resources to pick them up early – which is what they need – and support them and their families. I think there is a crisis there.”
And in school? “It’s about relationships. If the child is able to develop a trusting relationship with an adult member of staff – and that may not be a teacher, but could also be a learning assistant – problems might be picked up at an early stage. Mouthy Year 9s are easy to spot; you can develop strategies for dealing with them. Those who keep themselves to themselves and may have other issues, that’s a more difficult problem.”
So rejoice in your ebullient, gobby, back-chatting, infuriatingly know-it all Year 9s. They, at least, are going to be OK. You? Well you’re amassing some great stories to scare your wide-eyed, non-teaching friends.
Make the difference
Every adult in school has a hand in creating happier, healthier students says Hannah Kinsey, head of training and development at advocacy charity Young Minds
Really listen
Young people say to us time and again that what makes a difference is having someone to talk to who really listens and is completely non-judgemental. That can be very difficult, especially if you’re being presented with behaviours you might struggle to understand.
Commit yourself
What really builds resilience in young people is having a sense of belonging. If that’s not at home it could be at school. We know the importance for young people of having an adult who holds them in mind; an adult who thinks about them when they’re not around.
Be the change
“We often hear from staff who feel their school doesn’t recognise pupils’ needs. If all you can focus on is your part you can still have a massive impact on the young people you are in contact with. Keep doing what you’re doing: putting the child at the centre of your practice.”
