Our ITT was unsuccessful as we received no applications, It was felt that this is because schools are already under increasing pressure due to COVID numbers within pupils and staff therefore do not have the capacity to set up a county wide service in the time frame required.

Evidence shows that absenteeism rates across the county are higher within our secondary school aged children. The most recent attendance data Autumn 2020 shows that attendance for all of the secondary schools across the county are in the bottom quartile of performance (quartile 4)
Evidence to support this can also be found in this work completed by the charity MIND:

Mind’s inquiry into secondary education and mental health - ‘Not Making the Grade: why our approach to mental health at secondary school is failing young people’ - released Wednesday 30 June revealed that almost all (96 per cent) of young people surveyed across England, reported that their mental health had affected their schoolwork at some point.

As part of its inquiry, Mind consulted with over 2,870 young people, parents/caregivers of young people affected by mental health problems, mental health professionals and school staff across England. The charity found that nearly seven in ten (68 per cent) young people reported being absent from school due to their mental health.