Call for social workers and therapists in every school

Teams of social workers and therapists should be stationed in every London school to give vital help to vulnerable pupils, a leading child expert advised today.

Teachers cannot cope with the number of children suffering problems caused by hunger and abuse, said Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of Kids Company.

The charity already provides therapists and social workers for 30 schools, including Lilian Baylis Technology School in Kennington. But Ms Batmanghelidjh said more must be done.

She said: “Teachers already have 30 kids in their class and are under enormous pressure and do the best they can. But the point is the teacher can’t leave a class of 30 and sort out the fact a child is sleeping on the floor.

“If you don’t have a parent who can take you to the point of help, how are you supposed to seek a solution when you are five years old?”

She called for a team including doctors, a mental health professional, social workers and a legal advice professional to be stationed in schools. “Every school should have a team of advisers who children know and can turn to directly, who can then navigate the path to services on behalf of vulnerable children and families.”

Ms Batmanghelidjh accused the Government of “tinkering at the sidelines” with regard to vulnerable children rather than tackling the problems properly.

Often children see social workers as the enemy, she said, because of the way their families speak about them. But if they were stationed in schools they would be much more approachable.

As well as funding teams of mental health workers for individual schools, Kids Company runs after-school clubs for hundreds of children where they can see therapists and are given meals. Ms Batmanghelidjh also set up the charity Place2Be to help children struggling with schoolwork because of emotional issues.

She said: “In the poorest schools in London we are seeing large numbers of pupils whose home environments are so challenging that it is admirable they even make it to school.