By Democrat reporter
Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has called for urgent action as he published research indicating that thousands of boys are missing out on mental health counselling while at school.
Statistics released by the Scottish Government show an increase in children and young people accessing in-school counselling services between July 2023 and March 2024, but analysis by the Scottish Greens shows that boys are almost half a likely to use these services.
In 2021 Green MSPs secured a commitment for the Scottish Government to ‘establish a guarantee of access, in school, to the mental health and wellbeing support that young people need, including counselling services.’
In the period from July 2023 to March 2024 61% of the 17,621 pupils using the service were girls, whereas 36% were boys. In the six months prior the figures were 63% and 36% respectively. The average since reporting began in 2021 is 63% girls to 35% boys.
Scottish Greens Education spokesperson, Ross Greer MSP, left, said: “I’m glad that so many young people are using the in-school mental health services fought for and secured by the Scottish Greens, but the gender gap is extremely worrying.
“The number of pupils accessing counselling in school has increased post-pandemic, but I know from speaking to young constituents before 2020 that the demand was always there. This expansion of counselling support just means that we are meeting more of it and supporting thousands of additional young people.
“The gap between the numbers of young men and young women accessing counselling is a real worry though. It is well documented that men of all ages find it harder to talk about their mental health, and to seek support. These numbers show that we’re still not supporting many of the young men who really need it.
“We should aim to be a society where men and boys feel comfortable talking about their mental health, and can be directed towards the support they need, when they need it. For that reason, I’m calling on every school in Scotland to make an extra effort to encourage their young men to access counselling if that’s what they need.
“Scotland is not alone in going through a crisis of poor mental health amongst young people. Providing the right support in school is absolutely essential to tackling this.”
Date Uptake % Girls % Boys
July 2023 – March 2024 17621 61 36
January 2023 – June 2023 14290 63 36
July 2022 – December 2022 13150 64 35
January 2022 – June 2022 14508 63 36
July 2021 – December 2021 12149 62 (7573) 32
January 2021 – June 2021 10029 65 (6532) 31(3115)