“These findings chime with what we are hearing from school and college leaders. The capacity of local services to provide support to children has reduced over the past decade, leaving teachers and leaders to fill the void on top of all their other duties and with inadequate government funding.
“The role of school and college staff now extends far beyond the classroom. They have become a de facto and unofficial branch of social and healthcare services without the training, capacity or resources to discharge such responsibilities. It places them under intolerable workload and stress, and this situation is not nearly good enough for children and young people who need dedicated and specialist support.
“The government must review what it expects of schools and colleges, what it expects of other support services, and how it is going to ensure that the appropriate training, funding and personnel are in place. It must stop short-changing schools, colleges and children.”