Child mental health crisis as one million seek help for anxiety and autism in England

More than a million children in England are currently engaged with mental health services, a figure described as revealing the "sheer scale of distress young people are facing today". The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has declared that the nation is "in no doubt that we are facing a crisis in young people’s mental health".

Her annual report, published on Monday, revealed that 1,048,965 children had active referrals to children and young people’s mental health services in the 12 months leading up to March 2025. This figure encompasses children who were referred for, awaiting, or receiving treatment during that period, though it excludes those already undergoing treatment at the start of the year.

The number of active referrals has almost doubled from 563,639 in 2018-19, with a 9.5% increase in the last year alone. While Dame Rachel noted there appeared to be "no straightforward answers" to the surge, data obtained from NHS England by her office indicates anxiety as the primary reason for referrals.

The report also exposed concerning waiting times, with a weighted average of 128 days for all children in the year ending March 2025. Of those still awaiting treatment at that point, 60,041 (16%) had been waiting for over two years, an increase from 14% the previous year, with waits exceeding a year described as "common".

Dame Rachel branded the figures "stark", stating: "Roughly one in 10 children have an active referral to mental health services in England, which clearly demonstrates the sheer scale of distress young people are facing today. These are not just numbers, but children whose lives have been put on hold for months and, in some cases, years waiting for support they urgently need."

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Source: The Independent, 29 June 2026