‘Crisis’ as children’s mental health referrals top a million in a year
More than a million children – around one in 10 – in England were referred for, awaiting or getting treatment from mental health services, according to data analysis said to show the “sheer scale of distress young people are facing today”.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said she is “in no doubt that we are facing a crisis in young people’s mental health”.
While she said there appeared to be “no straightforward answers” to what has been driving the rise, data obtained by her office suggested the top reason for referrals was anxiety, while demand was said to be “growing especially” for those referred with suspected autism and neurodevelopmental conditions.
There were 1,048,965 children with active referrals to children and young people’s mental health services in the 12 months to March 2025, her annual report into the subject said.
Active referrals include children who have been referred for, were waiting on or received treatment in that time period, but the figures do not include children who were already being treated at the beginning of the 12-month period.
The number of active referrals has almost doubled from 563,639 in 2018-19 and grew by 9.5% in the last year alone, Dame Rachel’s report said.
It pointed to a Government review, published in March, which said there is no “single narrative” for the rise in rates of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when it comes to demand for children’s mental health services.
That report said “rising distress” among younger people appears to be one of the factors behind an increase in demand for services, while it also highlighted a “medicalisation of distress” which can lead to a diagnosis being the “main route of support”.
Report authors said rising rates of diagnosis for ADHD and autism “does not necessarily mean rising prevalence” of the conditions, but rather could be influenced by “improved recognition, changes in help-seeking behaviour, evolving social patterns, and the possibility that under-recognition may persist in parts of the population”.
Dame Rachel’s report, published on Monday, stated that there appear to be “no straightforward answers to what is driving the rise in referrals, and that there may be different answers depending on the conditions being considered”.
The data her office obtained from NHS England suggested the biggest increase in numbers year-on-year was referrals for suspected autism – rising by 47% from 65,530 to 96,393.
Referrals for other neurodevelopmental conditions increased by almost a quarter from 107,479 to 133,435.
Meanwhile, referrals for anxiety rose from 151,479 to 169,389 – a 12% increase.
Anxiety accounted for 16% of all referrals in the year to March 2025, while neurodevelopmental conditions excluding autism made up 13%, suspected autism was the reason for 9.2% of referrals and depression accounted for 3.9%.
Children under 10 were more likely to be referred with neurodevelopmental conditions – specifically suspected autism for children aged six and younger, the report said.
For children aged over 10, the most common reason for referral was anxiety, it added.
The weighted average waiting time for all children in the year ending March 2025 was 128 days and of those still awaiting treatment at that point, 60,041 (16%) had been waiting longer than two years, the report said.
This was up from 14% the previous year and the report added that waits of more than a year were “common”.
Dame Rachel branded the figures “stark”.
She added: “Roughly one in 10 children have an active referral to mental health services in England, which clearly demonstrates the sheer scale of distress young people are facing today. These are not just numbers, but children whose lives have been put on hold for months and, in some cases, years waiting for support they urgently need.”
She acknowledged “encouraging signs” as more children received support last year, but said there remains a “colossal challenge facing mental health services, as demand outpaces system capacity and funding”.
Dame Rachel added: “The way we look to support young people’s mental health must change – we cannot address mental health alone in isolation, improving children’s wellbeing requires action across government.
“At the same time, there must be a shift in how we approach children’s mental health with greater focus on joined-up services across health, education and social care to ensure children are getting the help they need in schools and the community, only then will we stop asking what is wrong, but rather ‘how can we help?'”
She said the Government’s mental health strategy and reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system are a “once in a generation opportunity to transform children’s mental health and improve outcomes for children”.
Published: by Radio NewsHub