In light of the dramatic rise in mental health disorders among adolescents seen in the past decade across the world, there is an urgent need for robust evidence on what works to combat this trend. This paper provides the first robust evaluation of the impacts on school outcomes of 6-year funding programme (HeadStart) for area-level mental health interventions for adolescents. Exploiting educational administrative data on ten cohorts of state-educated secondary school students, we use the synthetic control method to construct counterfactual outcomes for areas that received the funding. We show that the funding did not affect students’ absenteeism or academic attainment, but it prevented around 800 students (c. 10% of students typically excluded yearly) from being excluded in its first year. The transient nature of this effect suggests that sustained funding for intervention is a necessary but not sufficient condition to maintain programme effectiveness over time.
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2022.4222
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
Suggested citation
Cattan, S et al. (2022). The impact of area level mental health interventions on outcomes for secondary school pupils: Evidence from the HeadStart programme in England . 22/42. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/impact-area-level-mental-health-interventions-outcomes-secondary-school-pupils (accessed: 2 November 2024).
More from IFS
Understand this issue
It’s time to be honest about the funding of social care
16 September 2024
What does the Budget mean for the UK?
We discuss the Chancellor's first Budget and what impact the changes could have.
31 October 2024
We can’t have any more budgets where speculation is running wild
Rachel Reeves needs to deliver a clear statement of intent for the remainder of this government’s time in office
28 October 2024
Policy analysis
Adult social care in England: what next?
We set out the major challenges facing the adult social care system in England and explore potential future developments for the sector.
10 October 2024
Real-terms departmental spending growth, 2024–25 to 2028–29, day-to-day spending and capital spending, plans at Spring Budget 2024 and Autumn Budget 2024
Rachel Reeves has topped up the day-to-day departmental spending plans inherited from Jeremy Hunt, but the increases are very front-loaded.
1 November 2024
Autumn Budget 2024: IFS analysis
At this online webinar IFS researchers presented their initial response to new Chancellor Rachel Reeves' first Budget.
Academic research
Health shocks, health insurance, human capital, and the dynamics of earnings and health
We specify and calibrate a life-cycle model of labor supply and savings incorporating health shocks and medical treatment decisions.
21 October 2024
Robust inference for the Frisch labor supply
The Frisch labor supply elasticity plays a key role in many economic policy debates, but its magnitude remains controversial.
21 October 2024
Hidden redistribution in lifetime earnings: the role of differential mortality
Life expectancy gaps between gender and income groups are large and generate notable implicit redistribution in lifetime earnings via pension systems.
9 October 2024