Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson faced pointed questioning from Stephen Dixon over the government's new initiative to teach children "grit" to tackle growing mental health issues in schools.
The exchange came after Phillipson and Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced plans to help children develop resilience to prepare them for life's "ups and downs" in the classroom.
The government's drive aims to address deteriorating mental health among young people, which is driving record school absences according to recent Department for Education data.
The classroom interventions will include sessions to tackle anxiety and low mood, with struggling schools receiving additional support.
Bridget Phillipson said that children need 'grit'
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The Education Secretary said on GB News: "I’ve been speaking alongside the Health Secretary about how we can build resilience and grit in our young people, so they’re better equipped to navigate what can sometimes be a complex and challenging world."
Stephen Dixon responded: "But it’s no more difficult or complex now than it has ever been. I mean, the challenges have changed things are different but it’s always been hard for young people.
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"So why is it that people seemed to have a bit of determination, resilience, and grit in the past, but don’t now? Because, I mean, the way you talk about it and the way others do too it sounds like anyone under the age of 18 is, frankly, falling apart."
Phillipson said: "No, far from it. I think it’s a good thing that both adults and young people can be more open about how they feel and where they might be struggling with life’s ups and downs.
"That’s part of the human condition. But it’s also important to ensure that support is in place around that.
"We went through a pandemic that had a profound and lasting impact on many young people.
"They missed out on significant milestones in their lives, spent long periods away from friends, and were out of school unable to do many of the normal things associated with childhood. I do think that has had a real impact."
Under the new measures, the government plans to increase specialist mental health support teams from 607 to 713 by March 2026.
These teams will provide one-on-one support to pupils who need help but don't meet NHS referral thresholds.
The government will also recruit new attendance and behaviour ambassadors to "prevent greater problems mounting up down the line".
Bridget Phillipson has doubled down on her trans U-turn PAPhillipson and Streeting said these measures would tackle what they called the "triple threat of attendance, behaviour and mental health" and "supercharge a coordinated effort to address the root causes of issues causing disruption and chaos in classrooms."
The initiative includes launching new attendance and behaviour hubs, led by the highest performing schools in the country.
The concerning statistics driving this initiative are stark. More than a fifth of eight to 16-year-olds had a probable mental health problem in 2023, according to NHS data – an increase of seven percentage points since 2017.
