Most older primary school pupils have problems sleeping while a third suffer emotional difficulties, a major study has revealed.
Half of the children aged seven to 11 who took part in the research said they had been bullied at school and fewer than half ate fruit or vegetables every day.
The study on more than 50,000 children in Wales found mental health symptoms tended to be more common among those from less affluent families.
Researchers behind the School Health Research Network (SHRN) project said it was the most comprehensive look into the health and wellbeing of primary-age children in Wales – and one of the most detailed carried out in the UK.
Lynne Neagle, the Welsh cabinet secretary for education, said some of the findings were sobering.
She added: “It is important that we hear directly from children and young people to better understand how they are feeling and what is impacting them for us to shape future work we do. Parts of this report made for sobering reading.”
SHRN is a partnership between the Welsh government, Cardiff University and Public Health Wales. More than 500 primary schools took part in the study from across all 22 local authorities in Wales – almost half of all state maintained primary schools. One independent school participated and in total 51,662 learners completed a SHRN questionnaire.
Among the findings were:
68% of children reported having problems sleeping sometimes or always. 15% reported a bedtime of 10pm or later.
About 30% reported “elevated or clinically significant emotional difficulties”. More girls than boys and learners from low-affluence families reported this.
51% reported having been bullied at school in the past couple of months. A slightly higher proportion of girls than boys said they had been bullied. 29% of year six learners reported having been cyberbullied in the past couple of months.
48% reported eating fruit at least once a day. Girls were more likely to report eating fruit daily. 37% reported eating vegetables at least once a day. Boys were less likely to report eating vegetables daily.
69% of learners reported a high degree of life satisfaction. Life satisfaction declined with increased age. A slightly higher proportion of boys reported high life satisfaction than girls.
For nearly all survey questions, learners who stated that they identified as neither a boy nor a girl had poorer outcomes.
Rocio Cifuentes, the children’s commissioner for Wales, said: “Behind each statistic is a child, and we must respond at pace to what we’re hearing because some of what’s being reported is deeply concerning.
“How children and young people are supported with their mental health and emotional wellbeing is a key question for the Welsh government.
“Mental health ‘one-stop shops’ should be available to children in every health board area where they can easily access the help and support they need. We need increased investment in on-the-ground staff in schools. We need more focus and resource in early intervention and preventive approaches to supporting and maintaining good emotional wellbeing and mental health.”
The idea is that the data is used by schools, public health officials and policymakers to spot trends and help children through difficulties.
SHRN researchers say the project is unique in its scale and reach in the UK. It has previously studied secondary school pupils in Wales but this was the first one to focus on primary children.
The Welsh government said it was investing more than £13m annually in its “whole school approach” to mental health, with more than £3m going directly into school-based counselling. It said it would use the data to inform its policies on health and bullying.
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk.
