The Children's Commissioner has just published a report about children's mental health services - it makes very sad reading but is not a surprise to anyone who is involved in these services.
https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2025/05/cco-childrens-mental-health-annual-briefing-may-2025.pdf
I was particularly struck by the comments in the foreword that "Above all, we need to stop asking children to prove they are unwell enough to deserve help. We must build a system that is not reliant on diagnosis for care, only responding to children who meet a threshold - but one which listens earlier, acts faster, and supports every child"
and the executive summary says "We need a new vision for childhood—one that doesn’t silo mental health away from education, care, or physical wellbeing. We need a system that works together to nurture, support, and empower every child from the start. We need a cross-government approach to children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing which addresses these wider determinants of happiness and health. If we are to break down barriers to opportunity, we must start here – because for hundreds of thousands of children, the barrier to opportunity is their mental health."
It also links to an earlier report on waiting times for assessment and support of neurodevelopmental conditions which makes for similarly tough reading from October 2024 which I wasn't aware of.
https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2024/10/CCo-report-on-ND-waiting-times_final.pdf
I am glad that someone is sharing these issues but not entirely confident anyone will listen 😟