As educators, you're seeing it every day. More students struggling with anxiety, low mood, and stress than ever before. The statistics confirm what you already know: by 2023, nearly a quarter of 11 to 16 year olds were likely affected by mental health difficulties. That's roughly six or seven pupils in every class of thirty.

The Reality in Our Schools

You're doing your best with what you have, but the gaps in mental health support are becoming impossible to ignore. Right now, around 730,000 young people across the UK fall into what experts call "the missing middle". These are the students who don't quite meet the threshold for specialist services like CAMHS, but whose needs go beyond what school-based Mental Health Support Teams can offer.

Even more concerning, Mental Health Support Teams currently reach only 54% of pupils, meaning 42% of schools have no access to these teams at all. You might be in one of those schools, watching your students struggle and wondering what more you can do.

The funding picture isn't helping either. With only a 1.9% increase in per pupil funding for 2024-25, schools are stretched impossibly thin, trying to balance rising energy costs, staff salaries, and support for disadvantaged pupils alongside the growing mental health crisis.

Early Signs Matter

You're often the first to notice when something's not quite right. A previously engaged student who's become withdrawn. The pupil who's suddenly anxious about presentations. The teenager who seems exhausted every single day.

Students who've experienced bullying, major life changes, or feel marginalised are particularly vulnerable. But without proper systems for early identification and enough trained staff to respond, these warning signs can go unaddressed until problems become more serious.

A Different Kind of Support

This is where something like yoga and mindfulness can make a real difference, not as a replacement for professional mental health services, but as a practical, preventative approach that supports all your students.

BEAM ACADEMY specialises in bringing yoga and mindfulness into educational settings, working with children from walking age through to teens. Their qualified instructors deliver classes designed specifically for young people, using simple, accessible techniques that don't require any previous experience.

Why Yoga and Mindfulness Work in Schools

Think about what your students need most. Tools to manage stress before exams. Ways to calm down when they're feeling overwhelmed. Techniques to focus when their minds are racing. Strategies to feel more confident in their own bodies during those difficult teenage years.

Yoga and mindfulness offer all of this. They're not about achieving perfect poses or emptying the mind completely (let's be honest, that's not realistic for anyone, let alone teenagers). Instead, they provide practical skills that students can use in the moment, whether that's breathing techniques before a test or simple movements to release tension.

The beauty of this approach is that it's universal. Every student can benefit, from those coping with diagnosed anxiety to those just navigating the everyday pressures of secondary school. It creates a culture of wellbeing rather than singling out those who are struggling.

What This Looks Like in Practice

BEAM ACADEMY can work with your school to set up regular classes delivered by their trained instructors. These aren't just for students either. They offer teacher wellbeing classes and workshops too, because you can't pour from an empty cup. Looking after your own mental health makes you better able to support your pupils.

Their instructors are trained through accredited courses with Yoga Alliance Professionals, so you're getting properly qualified practitioners who understand both yoga and the educational environment. They know how to engage reluctant teenagers, work with different abilities, and adapt sessions to fit your school's needs.

Building Resilience for the Long Term

Mental health support shouldn't just be reactive, stepping in when crisis hits. The most effective approach is preventative, building resilience and coping skills before problems escalate.

Regular yoga and mindfulness practice helps students develop self awareness, recognising their own stress signals before they become overwhelming. It teaches them that they have some control over how they respond to difficult situations. These are life skills that extend far beyond the school gates.

For students in that "missing middle", who need more than standard pastoral care but can't access specialist services, programmes like this can provide crucial support. For those waiting for CAMHS appointments, it offers coping strategies in the meantime. For everyone else, it's simply good practice in looking after mental health, just as PE lessons look after physical health.

Making It Happen

You might be thinking this sounds great in theory, but wondering about the practicalities. How do you fit another thing into an already packed timetable? Where does the funding come from? Will your students actually engage with it?

These are all valid questions, and they're worth exploring with organisations like BEAM ACADEMY who can talk through the logistics. Many schools integrate these sessions into PE, PSHE, or form time. Some offer them as lunchtime or after school clubs. There's no one size fits all approach.

What matters is finding a way to give your students these tools. Because right now, one in four of them needs better mental health support, and we know the current system isn't reaching them all.

You're Not Alone in This

Supporting your students' mental health can feel overwhelming, especially when resources are limited and needs are high. But you don't have to solve everything on your own.

By bringing in specialist support through approaches like yoga and mindfulness, you're adding another layer of care to what you already provide. You're giving your students practical skills they can use today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

And perhaps most importantly, you're sending them a clear message: their mental health matters, their wellbeing is a priority, and they're worth investing in.

That message alone can make all the difference.

To find out more about how BEAM ACADEMY can support mental health in your school through yoga and mindfulness, visit www.beam.academy or get in touch to discuss what might work for your setting.