Twelve students have attempted to take their own lives at a single school in just seven weeks. The school's headteacher told of the heartbreaking situation as he warned youngsters are facing a deepening mental health crisis.
And he said while staff were working hard to improve the outlook for the struggling pupils the situation was becoming more challenging. East Riding councillors were told how Hornsea Secondary School had seen a worrying increase in pupils who were self-harming or who had eating disorders.
The number of those facing domestic violence and drug or alcohol abuse at home had also increased. Headteacher Steve Ostler said safeguarding cases had more than doubled since the coronavirus pandemic, according to Hull Live.
Since the start of the school year in September there had been 265 cases being dealt with compared with 102. In the year before the covid pandemic this would have been around 102 for the same period..
And according to council public health lead Andy Kingdom the situation is likely to get worse during winter. Councillors were also told school funding had not increased to combat the rise in mental health problems in children.
The meeting of the Children and Young People Sub-Committee was told that, in the seven weeks since the start of this academic year in September, 26 Hornsea Secondary School pupils were referred because of home issues like domestic violence. A total of 12 children made a serious attempt to end their own life and there was also an increase in pupils self-harming who needed hospital treatment as a result.
The school has also seen an increase in anorexia and other eating disorders. Individual safeguarding cases included one pupil who was found to be self-harming, which had got worse during the half-term holiday.
Another child came to school with a facial injury which is believed to have happened at home. One pupil said they were concerned about their mother's mental health while another also said they were suffering because of their parents' alcohol and cocaine abuse.
One child approached safeguarding teams after their mother had an overdose. Mr Ostler said were increasingly having to pick up the pieces as the fallout from the pandemic and the cost of living impacts children.
He added the situation was becoming more challenging and was not just confined to Hornsea but was affecting all schools. Mr Ostler said: "This is what school staff are dealing with now and education is almost being pushed to the backbenches.
"There's a bulge of children who are now in very difficult situations and the effects of that are being pushed into schools. I think we're going to see more issues like domestic violence at home as money becomes tighter and we're facing our own significant financial pressures.
"What we're trying to do is to get back to normal as quickly as possible by getting school trips, visits, concerns and other events back up and running."
Schools director Eoin Mr Rush said the challenge facing schools was severe and the statistics from Hornsea Secondary School were cause for alarm. The director said: "This is something schools don't want to be facing, especially in the current climate.
"Headteachers are shot through with a determination to keep going and we need to continue our partnership with them because this isn't just the responsibility of schools. We have to try and intervene earlier and work to create a climate where pupils can feel a sense of optimism.
"Pupils have had an understandable reaction to the very odd experience of the pandemic and families have been and are under intense pressure."
Mr Kingdom said officials across the public sector needed to work as hard as they had during the pandemic to weather the worsening of the situation. The director said: "There are some dark clouds coming our way, winter is going to make the conditions of living worse.
"The conditions which create positive mental health are reducing and those which create negative mental health are increasing."
Council figures also show the number of children eligible for free school meals in the East Riding has also risen from around 6,000 before the pandemic to 8,500, an indicator that more are living with the stress of poverty.
- If you are a young person struggling with mental health issues contact childline or by phone on 0800 1111.
