THOUSANDS of boys are missing out on mental health counselling in schools, highlighting an “extremely worrying” gender gap, new figures have shown.
The Scottish Greens have called for action after statistics published by the Scottish Government revealed that while there has been an increase in children accessing counselling services in schools, boys are almost half as likely to use them.
Between July 2023 and 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.
The Scottish Government said it was aware of issues with boys and young men coming forward to seek help, and that they had committed to providing £15 million per year to allow local authorities to provide counselling services.
In 2021, Scottish 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”.
The party’s education spokesperson Ross Greer said the figures show boys and young men are not being supported enough and urged schools to act.
He 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.
Greer added that the gap between young men and young women accessing counselling services is a “real worry”.
“It is well documented that men of all ages find it harder to talk about their mental health, and to seek support,” he said.
“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.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government and we know there are issues with young men and boys coming forward to seek help.
“That is why we have provided local authorities with over £65 million since 2020 to fund community-based mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children, young people and their families.
"This £15 million per year funding is continuing through the local government finance settlement from 2025-26.
“We are also continuing to provide £16 million a year to local authorities to ensure that every secondary school has access to school counselling services for those aged ten and over, providing support to more than 17,500 children and young people between July 2023 to March 2024.
"In addition, we have provided national guidance to schools on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and provided online training materials for school staff recognising that a range of supports may be required.”
