Children are less likely to suffer from serious mental health difficulties in later life if they receive support at an early age, providing a cost saving to adult mental health services.

Growing evidence indicates that promoting positive mental health also improves a range of positive school outcomes, including attitudes to learning, better attendance and lower exclusion rates. 

• One in eight children and young people have a diagnosable mental health problem, and many continue to have these problems into adulthood. 
• 50% of those with lifetime mental health problems first experience symptoms by the age of 14. 
• Among teenagers, rates of depression and anxiety have increased by 70% in the past 25 years. 
• NHS England estimates that poor mental health costs the economy, NHS and society £105 billion a year in England