6,800 young people were asked about their mental health. What did they say?

In Suffolk, over 6,800 students shared their views on mental health and wellbeing with their local Healthwatch to help improve future support.

Key findings

- 1 in 3 know of someone who is self harming

- 15% said they had previously self-harmed. Of these, 3 in 4 were female

- 45% of respondents said they’re not taught about mental health and wellbeing at school. Students said they wanted to see better education on topics such as anxiety, body image, and managing their mental health and wellbeing

- School pressures such as exam and revision become increasingly prominent sources of stress over time (40% at age 11 to 85% at age 17).

- 3 out of 5 females and 1 in 4 males worry about their appearance and body image most, or all of the time.

- Almost 1 in 10 respondents stated they had been a victim of cyber bulling in the past two months (8%)

- Those who get less than six hours of sleep record lower than average wellbeing scores than those who get more.

What's next?

Healthwatch Suffolk made a series of recommendations, including the need for better signposting, improved engagement with schools around the subject of mental health and wellbeing and increased funding targeted at prevention.

These recommendations are improving support delivered within schools now, including specific engagement for schools on mental health and wellbeing as well as training for teachers about self-harm from NHS England.

These recommendations are also being used to help inform future plans of how mental health services and support will be run in Suffolk.