Young People's Mental Health JSNA

The Department of Health & Social Care's Fingertips tool has a Perinatal, children & young people's mental health profile, the following  information is a summary of key findings from this information when viewed in 2025.

Vulnerable Children

• The rate of children in care has remained steady from 2021/22 to 2023/24 which is in line with national patterns. The rate in Hartlepool is significantly higher than the North East (114) and England (70) at 164 per 10,000 in 2023/24.
• The percentage of looked after children whose emotional wellbeing is a cause for concern has increased at a higher rate in Hartlepool than in England since 2019/20. In 2023/24 42.0% of looked after children’s wellbeing was a cause for concern, for the region and England this was 41.0%. The rate of children who started to be looked after due to abuse or neglect has been consistently higher than England’s, the latest data in 2018 shows the rate in Hartlepool to be 31.9 per 10,000 compared to 27.7 in the North East and 16.4 in England.
• The rate of children in need due to socially unacceptable behaviour saw a sharp increase from 2016 to 2018 to 15.0 per 10,000 aged under 18. The rate of children in need due to child disability or illness has increased to 123.2 per 10,000 under 18 in 2018. This is significantly higher than the region and England.
• The percentage of children who became subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time increased significantly between 2017 and 2018 to 25.8% higher than both the North East (20.3%) and England (20.2%). The rate per 10,000 of children under 18 that were subject to a child protection plan with initial category of abuse increased between 2016 and 2018 surpassing the England rate. The rate in 2018 was 25.9% in Hartlepool and 25.0% in the North East. The rate per 10,000 children aged under 18 subject to a child protection plan with initial category of neglect shows a similar trend pattern to England’s, however has been consistently higher than national rates. In 2018 57.9 per 10,000 children in Hartlepool were subject to a child protection plan with initial category of neglect.
• The rate of children under 18 on child protection plans has been consistently higher than the regional and national rate. There has been a sharp increase since 2018/19 with 121.8 per 10,000 in 2020/21, for the same year the rate was 67.2 per 10,000 children in the North East and 41.4 per 10,000 in England. The rate of children in need under 18 due to abuse or neglect has risen and remains higher than England, with latest data in 2018 at 343.6 per 10,000 for Hartlepool. The rate of children in need due to parent disability or illness in Hartlepool saw a sharp decline from 2017 to 2018 to lower than the national rate, in 2018 in Hartlepool the rate was 6.0 per 10,000.
• The rate of children leaving care has seen a similar trend pattern to England other than a drop in 2015/16. The rate has been consistently higher than nationally and similar to the region. The rate in 2018/18 was 39.4 per 10,000.

School Pupils

Pupil absence has increased since 2010/11 with a sharp increase since 2020/21 which may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase matches the national trend pattern. The rate has since declined alongside England’s to 7.8% in 2023/24 in Hartlepool.

Social, emotional and mental health needs

• The proportion of school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs in Primary school has increased since 2015/16 alongside the national and regional pattern. In Hartlepool there was a spike in the proportion from 2019/20 to 2020/21 were the proportion was higher than the national but the same as the region. The trend in Hartlepool then experienced a decline up to the current time period 2022/23 where 2.2% of Primary school pupils have a need.
• The proportion of Secondary school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs experienced a decline in trend from 2015/16 to 2018/19 where patterns have slowly risen. The proportion of Hartlepool Secondary school pupils has remained below the national proportion since 2019/20 and has been consistently lower than the regional proportion. There is currently a declining trend with 2.9% of pupils in 2022/23.
• Of all pupils of school age 2.5% have social, emotional and mental health needs in 2022/23 which is lower than both the region and England.

School readiness

• The percentage of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception was 65.5% in Hartlepool in 2023/24, lower than the region (66.8%) and England (67.7%). The trend mimics the national picture although the percentage is lower. The percentage of children with free school meal status achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception was 54.3% in 2023/24, which is an increase from the previous year returning to the value of 2021/22.

Exclusion

• The rate of fixed period exclusion due to persistent disruptive behaviour increased since 2011/12 then saw a sharp increase between 2015/16 and 2016/17. The rate increased to higher than England’s in 2014/15 and has remained higher. The latest value is 3.2% of school aged pupils in 2016/17 in Hartlepool. The rate of primary school fixed period exclusions is significantly lower than the region and national rate, however the secondary school rate has been increasingly sharply.

Learning Difficulties & Special Educational Needs

• The percentage of school aged pupils with learning difficulties has been increasing since 2014, surpassing the national and regional rate. In 2017 6.6% of Hartlepool’s school aged pupils had learning difficulties in comparison to 6.0% of the North East’s and 5.6% of England’s.
• The percentage of school pupils with special educational needs has increased alongside the national trend and has remained higher than the national rate since 2016/17. The latest data in 2023/24 for Hartlepool is 19.6% the same as regionally and higher than nationally (18.4%).

NEET

The proportion of 16 to 17 year olds not in education, employment or training or whose activity is not known has been consistently lower than the North East and England. There has been a slight increase since 2018/19 to 3.9% in 2022/23 in Hartlepool.

Hospital Admissions

Hospital admissions as a result of self-harm in 10 to 24 year olds has had erratic trends since 2011/12. Following a decrease in admissions in 2019/20 the rate has increased to 415.6 per 100,000 in 2023/24. This is higher than the region (397.0) and the nation (266.6) rate. The England trend has remained fairly consistent between 2011/12 and has seen a decline since 2021/22.

In 2022/23, hospital admission as a result of self-harm:

• 10–14-year-olds: 246.2 per 100,000
• 15–19-year-olds: 548.8 per 100,000
• 20–24-year-olds: 389.1 per 100,000

Services

The rate of attended contacts with community and outpatient mental health services in under 18s in Hartlepool is significantly higher than England the North East. Latest data from 2019/20 shows Hartlepool’s rate of 69,273 per 100,000 compared to 52,574 in the North East and 28,395 in England. The rate of new referrals to secondary mental health services has slightly decreased since 2017/18 to 8,714 per 100,000 in 2019/20. The trend is consistent unlike England’s and the North East’s which increased across the same time period.

Adversity

The percentage of all dependent children under 20 in Hartlepool within low income families has been consistently higher than the North East and England. The latest available data is from 2016 where 28.1% of children under 20 were in low income families. The proportion of children eligible for free school meals has risen alongside national patterns however has been consistently higher than the North East and England. In 2023/24 38.0% of children in Hartlepool were eligible for free school meals which is increasing.

Youth Justice System

The rate of first time entrants to the youth justice system has decreased over the last 12 years alongside national trends. The rate in Hartlepool has fluctuated above and below the national trend and has remained higher since 2019. The latest data in 2023 was 181.2 per 100,000 in Hartlepool, higher than both the region and nation.