The LGA has warned of a rise in the number of children with mental health problems seen by social workers, which has surged by a quarter since before the coronavirus pandemic.
Latest figures show 77,390 children were assessed as having a mental health need on 31 March 2021 – amounting to nearly 1,500 children presenting to councils every week.
This is an increase of 25 per cent on the 61,830 seen two years earlier.
The LGA says the figures illustrate the devastating impact of COVID-19 on some young people, with successive lockdowns and school closures harming young people’s mental wellbeing and exacerbating existing mental health challenges.
It warns the numbers could continue to increase, underlining the need for children’s social care services to be adequately funded as part of a child-centred recovery from the pandemic, and the importance of early intervention to prevent problems escalating.
Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “As these figures show, hundreds of children every week are seen by social workers because they need help with their mental health and we expect these numbers to grow as the full impact of the pandemic is felt.
“This reinforces the importance of fully funding the whole system of children’s mental health support – including councils and the NHS – to make sure that children get the help they need, when they need it. That includes early help to prevent children reaching crisis point.
“Councils want to be able to provide the very best support for children, which is why we are urging government to work with councils on a child-centred, cross-government pandemic recovery plan that offers the very best future for children and families.”
