More than one million children in England were referred to mental health services in 2024-25, according to the annual report Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services: 2024-25. The figure is nearly double that of 2018-19 and represents a 10% increase from the previous year.
Children’s Commissioner calls it a crisis
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza described the situation as a “young people’s mental health crisis,” stating that “there is no disguising the fact that the figures in this report are stark.” She noted that while there are no “straightforward answers” to what is driving the rise, anxiety was the most common reason for referral, accounting for 16% of cases.
Surge in autism and neurodevelopmental referrals
Referrals for suspected autism rose by almost 50% in a single year, surpassing 96,000. Other neurodevelopmental conditions, such as ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome, increased by nearly a quarter. However, fewer than 1 in 5 children with these conditions received support in 2024-25, and those who did waited an average of a year for help.
Dame Rachel warned that more than 60,000 children are waiting over two years for treatment, up from over 44,000 the previous year. She acknowledged improvements in services but said the “colossal challenge” cannot be ignored, as demand rises faster than capacity and funding.
Calls for cross-sector collaboration
Dame Rachel called for a change in approach and more collaboration between “health, education, and social care to ensure children are getting the help they need in schools and the community.” The charity YoungMinds raised concerns about barriers facing Black children and those from racial minorities, particularly those referred with suspected autism or neurodevelopmental conditions. Black children were underrepresented in referrals but more likely to be in crisis when referred: 25% of Black children were referred in crisis, compared with 16% of Asian children and 7.4% of white children.
Deprivation and educational inequalities
Children from the most deprived 10% of areas in England accounted for 15% of referrals, while those from the least deprived areas made up 7.6%. An independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes concluded that the education system “is not serving the interests of white working-class children.” Co-chair Baroness Morris said responsibility “cannot sit with schools alone” and that low performance is not due to a lack of ambition or effort from young people.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said multiple generations have been “robbed of opportunity,” adding: “The communities in this report are my communities. I know what they’ve given this country and what this country has failed to give back.” The inquiry found that 48% of white working-class children reached a good level of development by age five, compared with 75% of white British children not on free school meals. At GCSE, 36% of white working-class pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, versus 72% of all pupils not on free school meals.
Widespread reforms urged
Widespread changes are called for to improve mental health support in early school years, including increasing free childcare hours for disadvantaged families, expanding apprenticeship access, and ensuring reading fluency at primary school is a national priority for white working-class children.
