Frontier Economics’ work influences important study about improving the lives of children in school, and beyond school

Pro Bono Economics have today published a report for children’s mental health charity Place2Be. Mental health problems affect about 850,000 children, or about three in every school class. Effective intervention could have wide-ranging benefits. This report assesses the charity’s primary school counselling service and its long-term benefits to the children receiving the service, and to the taxpayer.

Pro Bono Economics’ analysis estimated the benefits of the counselling scheme using an approach that closely followed the framework set out in a recent Frontier report. The Frontier report, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), was part of the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED).

As benefits of the counselling service arise over an extended period of time, the analysis by Pro Bono Economics relied on evidence presented in Frontier’s SEED report to assess how those benefits manifest themselves in future years. Frontier’s work allowed Place2Be to better understand the strength of the links between improved mental health in childhood and a range of later outcomes, such as reduced rates of depression and crime and higher rates of employment and wages.

Frontier regularly advises clients in the public sector on issues related to early education and childcare policy.

For more information please contact media@frontier-economics.com, or call +44 (0)20 7031 7000