Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Primary Schools: What Sheffield’s Y5 and Y6 Pupils Are Telling Us
At Sheffield Futures, we believe every young person deserves the right support at the right time. As part of our mission to improve early mental health intervention, we’ve recently conducted targeted research to better understand what support primary school children in Years 5 and 6 (ages 9-11) might need around their mental health and wellbeing. Here’s what we found, what we’re doing about it, and our recommendations for others working with children and families.
What We Did
We carried out three online surveys to gather insight from those who know children best:
335 Y5/Y6 pupils from 25 different primary schools across Sheffield
274 parents and carers of Y5/Y6 children
9 education professionals including teachers, SENDCos, Designated Safeguarding Leads, and Mental Health Leads
We wanted to hear directly from children, parents and schools about what mental health concerns are showing up at this age and what support might help. Surveys were sent to all 153 primary schools in Sheffield and the responses we received reflect 28 of those schools.
Key Findings
The headlines from this research are clear - there is a pressing need to intervene earlier than we currently do. Our open-access Door 43 support starts at age 13, and our Early Support Hub delivers to groups as young as 11, but this research shows that challenges are starting even younger.
Mental Health Challenges Are Common:
73% of children said they are sometimes unhappy
60% said they are sometimes lonely
60% said they sometimes worry – with 19% saying they always worry
Parental Insight Supports This:
50% of parents feel their child needs support with their mental health
Just 23% said their child doesn’t struggle
Parental Support is Key:
74% of children said their parent or carer helps them feel calm
This reinforces the importance of involving parents in any intervention
Neurodivergence and Co-Occurring Challenges:
54% of children are either diagnosed with or suspected to be neurodivergent
Children with neurodivergence were far more likely to experience challenges with anxiety and emotional regulation
Support Needs Are Shared by Parents and Schools:
Around half of parents would benefit from guidance around anxiety and emotional regulation
77% of school staff say they’d benefit from guidance around emotional regulation and 55% around anxiety
Schools told us that inconsistent interventions due to staffing and resourcing issues make it difficult to provide effective in-house support
If you'd like to learn more about our findings, please email [email protected] with the subject line 'Primary Research'.
What We're Doing About It
This research has confirmed what many families, health professionals and educators already knew: mental health support is needed before the age of 11.
We’re now developing a new parent-led intervention specifically for children in Y5 and Y6. Designed in collaboration with education mental health professionals, this approach will involve:
Six structured sessions for parents or carers, focused on managing anxiety and emotional regulation
Group delivery, either online or in person at Star House
Psychoeducation and guided tasks between sessions
An option for children to attend the space (though not the session), helping with childcare needs
This model is inspired by the successful parent-led CBT approaches used by CAMHS’ Child Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs), adapted to meet the needs of Sheffield families.
We’re currently planning a pilot group, co-designed with professionals and parents, with the aim to roll out a wider offer following a feedback and evaluation phase.
Our Recommendations
This work highlights how important it is to listen to young people, their families, and those who work with them every day. Based on our findings, here are our recommendations:
To Commissioners:
Invest in projects that work with younger children - early intervention matters. While recent focus has been on the transitional ages of 16-18 and 18-25, which is incredibly important and welcome, this research highlights that support needs to begin much sooner to prevent issues escalating as children grow older.
To Parents and Carers:
You’re not alone. Many families are experiencing the same challenges. There are helpful resources available:
To Schools:
Recognise that you don’t have to do this alone. Seek external partners who can provide consistent, evidence-based support to young people and their families.
To Service Providers:
Design support with the whole family in mind. Involve parents and carers, and create safe, flexible spaces that work around their lives.
What’s Next?
We want to continue learning. We're keen to expand this research to reach more schools, and to explore secondary school environments to understand how changes in setting impact mental health.
Our immediate next steps:
Complete session planning for the new intervention
Run a trial group with parents
Gather feedback and refine the model
Train staff to deliver the sessions more widely
By listening to the voices of children, parents, and schools, we’re building an offer that reflects real need and gives families the tools to thrive.
Stay tuned for more updates as we pilot this exciting new support model.
Supporting Research and Further Reading
Improving mental health and wellbeing with and through education settings: CoTN Mental Health Report
Supporting primary school students' mental health needs: Teachers' perceptions of roles, barriers, and abilities
Mental health support that 'normalises everyday emotions' most effective: Anna Freud research
CAMHS and CWP approaches: Sheffield CAMHS
Early intervention and CBT for children: NHS Every Mind Matters
Anxiety in children: YoungMinds
Anna Freud: Mentally Healthy Schools
Local mental health support: Sheffield Mental Health Guide
About our current mental health offer
Our Early Support Hub delivers free sessions to school and college groups ages 11-25. These structured sessions aim to raise awareness and increase knowledge of mental health issues, provide signposting to localised support, and destigmatise conversations around mental health. A new series of supplementary sessions is currently in development – if you would like to learn more about these sessions, please get in touch with [email protected]
Our open-access Door 43 service provides structured and unstructured support to young people ages 13-25 through Wellbeing Cafes, Counselling and Talking Therapies, and Social Prescribing. To find out more, contact [email protected]
More information about our services and how to access them can be found on our website sheffieldfutures.org.uk/get-support