Young people call for mental health link workers in schools
11th February 2026
Scotland’s schools need to offer better mental health support for young people, says the SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) Young People’s Panel.
This comes as their research finds that almost a third of young people said they wouldn’t feel safe talking to anyone in school about mental health.
The number of young people (16-24 year olds) who say they have a mental health condition has soared in recent years, from 2.5% in 2011, to 15.4% in 2022 according to Scotland’s census.
The Panel, which is made up of 19 young people from across Scotland, was established to help address some of the factors behind this rise, and to empower and enable young people to fight for change.
Making mental health link workers available in Scotland’s secondary schools would give pupils an accessible and trusted point of contact, working with young people who have mental health concerns to help identify and connect them with the right support for their needs.
The Panel want to see mental health link workers in schools across Scotland to help ensure that young people can ask once and get help fast, free from stigma and lengthy waiting times, and are calling on the public to support this ask.
Cameron, 22, from Motherwell is a member of the Young People’s Panel. He said: “There’s definitely a need for better access to mental health care in schools. I think that by investing in this, most young people across Scotland could benefit from help in their day-to-day lives.
“I’ve struggled with my mental health since I started high school when I was twelve, and although I was lucky enough to get support from CAMHS, I know how underfunded services are and that not everyone gets this. I would have loved to have had access to a mental health link worker when I was in school, someone who could provide me with a safe space to explore and heal.
“I hope that decision makers will hear our voices and act, and that people will get behind this campaign.”
Poppy, 19, from Kirkcaldy, also a Young People's Panel member, said: “All too often young people experience a blurred pathway for mental health support. Our campaign aims to solve this, by providing a non-clinical link worker in schools, to ensure every young person can access support.
“There was such a need for more support at my school. I often found that I didn’t want to be more of a burden to my guidance teacher who was already overwhelmed, so I often bottled everything up.
“Our research has found that 82% of people supported the idea of introducing link workers in schools, and I hope that decision makers will take notice of this and act.”
Billy Burke, Head of Children and Young People at SAMH, said: “Young people are the experts on what works best for them, so we’re delighted to be able to support the Young People’s Panel to demand better.
“From our work at SAMH, we know that link workers can have a really positive impact, whether that’s working in GP surgeries, or in clinical mental health settings, and we’re really excited to see what possibilities there are if we embed them in schools too.
“Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) isn’t and shouldn’t be the only answer when a young person is struggling with their mental health. Yet teachers often have nowhere else to turn, and we can see the devastating impact this has on waiting times and rates of rejected referrals. By taking a more holistic approach and really listening to the young person, we hope that link workers can help figure out what support will best meet their needs – whether that is a mental health service, or access to other supports such as bereavement, addiction, or whole family care.”
The Young People's Panel members are working together with SAMH to drive meaningful action and change through campaigns, services and raising awareness of the issues which matter to young people.
Find out more about the Panel and how you can support the campaign at: SAMH
