The impact of mental health on the island’s children is set to be raised in the House of Keys.

Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse will ask how many children at primary and secondary school have as a result of mental health-related issues failed to attend school, been asked to remain at home and been formally excluded from school; and how many pupil days have been lost as a consequence.

Mr Moorhouse also wants to know on how many occasions in each of the last three years the police have been asked by a parent or other person responsible for a child to attend an incident to which mental health was a contributing factor in a school, a home or another environment. Local mental health charity Isle Listen said earlier this year that it has continued to see a rise in the number of young people needing help and support with their mental health and wellbeing.

Michelle Haywood, Rushen MHK, will ask for each of the last five academic years, how many employers offered work experience to Year 10 or 11 students, how many students participated, how the programme was managed, and what it cost.

In July this year, Minister for Education, Sports and Culture, Julie Edge, said in the House of Keys that the number of work experience placements have declined since the pandemic due to a change in employment practices.

She said that not all year 10 and 11 students (aged 14 to 16) were able to get placed for work experience this year.

‘Changes to business structure, altered work patterns, remote and hybrid working have significantly reduced the number of appropriate placements employers are able to offer to year 10 or 11 students, meaning it is not possible to offer work experience to all students in either year group’, she said at the time.

The sitting will begin at 10am today.