CHILDREN as young as eight are being taken out of mainstream schools in South Cumbria and educated in a pupil referral unit due to a rise in the number of youngsters suffering from mental health problems.

In January earlier this year, 76 children, including one boy in Year 4, were referred to South Cumbria's Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) which is based at Newbridge House in Ewan Close, Barrow.

This compares to just 54 pupils in January 2015 and 44 in the year prior to that.

The PRU offers specialist teaching to those who have been kicked out of school. It also provides a hospital and home tuition service for those who are too unwell to attend due to illness, pregnancy or physical injuries.

Councillor Anne Burns, cabinet member on Cumbria County Council for children's services, thinks that the leap in referrals is due to an increase in mental health issues and is concerned by local cuts to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

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She said: "CAMHS is severely under pressure across the country but in South Cumbria they can't get the dedicated staff and psychologists they need to help children.

"Mental health is a big problem in a lot of children and we are failing to pick on up a lot of issues. It's all about early intervention and if we can pick out these issues in primary schools it is easier to work with them."

Caroline Walker, who is the headteacher of Parkside GGI Academy, thinks that school budget cuts and poverty both play a part in affecting a child's mental health state.

She said: "We are seeing far more children with social and emotional issues and we only go up to Year 7.

"It is increasing in the Furness area and a lot of that is down to poverty and deprivation which impacts on a child's wellbeing.

"Schools are trying their best but the budget cuts are going to keep on increasing. We have to look at how we support children and the first thing they will stop is any extra staffing and support.

"If you aren't dealing with emotional issues, children are not ready to learn and then when they get older they shy away from their peers."

The increase in PRU referrals coincides with figures released by the government which showed that hundreds more children were suspended from schools across Cumbria last year.

During the 2014/15 academic year, 2,588 secondary school pupils were suspended across the county compared to just 2,302 the year before.

This accounted for secondary schoolchildren having 5,504 days off across the academic year compared to just 4,430 in the 2013/14 academic year.

Although Cumbria's exclusion levels are relatively low compared to other areas of the country, Mrs Burns believes that the increase is a cause for concern.

She added: "If one child is excluded for any one reason I am concerned. I am not making any excuses and we need to look at why this is happening.

"We want every child to be in school learning because we want them to go on and be responsible adults that are part of the community."

John Barrett, Cumbria County Council's assistant director for early help and learning, said that headteachers only tended to send pupils to PRU's as a last resort.

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He said: "I know that a lot of headteachers think very hard about permanently excluding a child and only do it when an incident is so significant that the pupil can't be part of the school any longer.

"I have never met a headteacher who does not do the utmost to keep a child at their school. It is generally seen as a last resort and isn't a decision they take lightly because they sometimes view it as a failure on their part.

"The PRU's do a significant amount of work for early intervention work for children and work intensively when children are permanently excluded to get them reading to go back into a mainstream classroom. It's a key service that is valued by children and the education system."