ALMOST 2500 pupils received counselling or therapeutic support in Glasgow’s primary and secondary schools last year.

A report to the city’s education committee revealed that between July 1, 2023 and March 31 2024, 2487 young people were supported.

Online mental health support services such as Kooth, for 10- to 16-year-olds, and Togetherall (for young people aged 16 to 23) are clinically supervised and provide 24/7 support.

From April 2023 to March 2024, Togetherall supported 254 young people in Glasgow. Of these, 67 percent stated that Togetherall was their only source of support.

Over the past six months 58 percent of users accessing the platform said they had thought of taking their own life and 47 percent had considered self-harm.

From July 2023 to March 2024, 993 young people accessed Kooth, including 196 of primary school age.

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The report coincides with World Mental Health Day (October 10). To mark the awareness day, the NSPCC’s Childline service has revealed that more than half (55%) of all counselling sessions delivered to young people in Scotland were about mental health and wellbeing.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, Childline delivered 4485 counselling sessions to young people in Scotland about mental and emotional health and wellbeing, equating to approximately 12 sessions a day.

When discussing their mental health, some of the top concerns that were raised were anxiety, stress, low mood, depression and loneliness.

Councillor Christina Cannon, Glasgow City Council’s education and early years convener, said: “Everyone faces challenges at some point in their life, so it’s crucial that our pupils know that they can access free, confidential support to help them through hard times.

“We have a wide range of mental health and wellbeing support in place to support our children and young people across the city.”

She added: “As a nurturing city, we place great emphasis on ensuring that our schools are positive and supportive environments which help build self-esteem, resilience and confidence.

“Our psychological services team has a number of counsellors who provide one-to-one and group sessions in both our primary and secondary schools, as well as our partnerships with the online platforms Togetherall and Kooth which pupils can access whenever they need to.

“Some schools also deliver play and art therapy.”

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The number of young people in Glasgow reporting issues around eating disorders and bullying linked to body shaming is on the rise.

Pupils at the Dance School of ScotlandPupils at the Dance School of Scotland (Image: Colin Mearns/Newsquest)

Data gathered through the city’s school counselling service and pastoral care network revealed that between January and December 2022, 2772 pupils used the service, and of those, 77 raised issues around eating disorders and body image. Between January 2023 and March 2024, 4501 students accessed the service, and the number mentioning eating disorders and body image jumped to 122.

A working group was established in 2023 to look at the need for guidance for schools around eating issues, led by teachers and support staff from Knightswood Secondary School and The Dance School of Scotland.

The practice guidelines they developed, which cover a range of issues - including how to spot the signs of potential eating disorders – will be rolled out across all city schools before the end of the year.

Young people can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or via childline.org.uk.