Identifying and supporting school-aged children and young people with anxiety and depressive disorders: the evidence and next steps

Objective: School-aged children (4 to 18 years) are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression, highlighting the urgent need for effective support systems. This commentary explores school-based approaches for identifying and supporting students with anxiety and depression. School-aged children (4 to 18 years) are experiencing higher rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms and disorders than ever before. This highlights the critical need for processes to support struggling students as anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health problems in Australian children and adolescents. Schools are one setting to identify children struggling with their mental health, but there are many barriers to address before implementing new systems into an already overcrowded curriculum and under-resourced education system. The commentary aims to examine different approaches available to schools for identifying and supporting the mental health of school-aged students, including teacher observation and referral, and standardised screenings. Method: We adopt a narrative review to evaluate educator observations and referral, and standardised screening approaches, and critically evaluate implementation barriers within the education system. Results: A combined approach using educator referrals and school-based screening shows promise for identifying anxiety and depression in school-aged children, but its success depends on addressing workforce shortages and implementing coordinated and accessible mental health support systems. Conclusions: Improving mental health outcomes for school-aged children requires urgent, coordinated action across education, healthcare, research, and government sectors to overcome systemic barriers and implement effective and accessible support strategies.