Mental Health-related School Provision and Hospital Contacts among Pupils enrolled in Alternative Provision
- 1Institute for Global Health, University College London, UK
Abstract
Background. Pupils enrolled in Alternative Provision (AP) represent a highly vulnerable population, with heightened mental health need at risk of long-term educational disengagement. Examining AP enrolment in relation to mental health-related school support and hospital contacts may inform early intervention and prevention approaches to address unmet mental health need. Methods. We analysed population-level linked school and hospital administrative data for 1.7m pupils (born 2000-2002) who attended state schools in England. We examined differences by racial-ethnic group and gender in rates and timing of AP enrolment and recording patterns of mental health-related provision and hospital contacts among pupils with AP enrolment. Results. A majority (62.4%) of pupils with AP enrolment had recorded mental health need, highest among Mixed White-Black Caribbean pupils (74.0%). Among those in AP, 52.0% of girls with a mental health-related hospital contact had school provision, compared to 67.3% boys. For some racial-ethnic groups, schools appeared less likely to record need evident in hospital records; 17.5% boys and 36.2% girls from Mixed White-Asian backgrounds enrolled in AP had mental health-related hospital contact without school provision. Conclusion. Among pupils enrolled in AP, documented mental health need is high but unevenly recorded across systems, with inequalities by racial-ethnic group and gender.
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BibTeX
@misc{chobhthaigh2026mental,
title = {{Mental Health-related School Provision and Hospital Contacts among Pupils enrolled in Alternative Provision}},
author = {S. Ni Chobhthaigh and T. Greenway-Bailey and J. Musanu and C. Cox and C. Neave and M. Mawi and A. Buhari and M. Green and R. A. Burgess and D. Devakumar and M. A. Jay},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.64898/2026.11.08.26367536},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.08.26367536v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Mental Health-related School Provision and Hospital Contacts among Pupils enrolled in Alternative Provision
AU - S. Ni Chobhthaigh
AU - T. Greenway-Bailey
AU - J. Musanu
AU - C. Cox
AU - C. Neave
AU - M. Mawi
AU - A. Buhari
AU - M. Green
AU - R. A. Burgess
AU - D. Devakumar
AU - M. A. Jay
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/08
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.11.08.26367536
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.08.26367536v1
AB - Background. Pupils enrolled in Alternative Provision (AP) represent a highly vulnerable population, with heightened mental health need at risk of long-term educational disengagement. Examining AP enrolment in relation to mental health-related school support and hospital contacts may inform early intervention and prevention approaches to address unmet mental health need. Methods. We analysed population-level linked school and hospital administrative data for 1.7m pupils (born 2000-2002) who attended state schools in England. We examined differences by racial-ethnic group and gender in rates and timing of AP enrolment and recording patterns of mental health-related provision and hospital contacts among pupils with AP enrolment. Results. A majority (62.4%) of pupils with AP enrolment had recorded mental health need, highest among Mixed White-Black Caribbean pupils (74.0%). Among those in AP, 52.0% of girls with a mental health-related hospital contact had school provision, compared to 67.3% boys. For some racial-ethnic groups, schools appeared less likely to record need evident in hospital records; 17.5% boys and 36.2% girls from Mixed White-Asian backgrounds enrolled in AP had mental health-related hospital contact without school provision. Conclusion. Among pupils enrolled in AP, documented mental health need is high but unevenly recorded across systems, with inequalities by racial-ethnic group and gender.
ER -