Incidents of self-harm had more than doubled at 28 secondary schools over six years, according to analysis

Schools are struggling to cope with a surge in self-harm among children, with more than 70,000 incidents in secondaries last year, research by The Times suggests.

The number of incidents recorded by schools has more than doubled since 2012, according to figures obtained through freedom of information requests.

School nurses are dealing with panic attacks, self-cutting, overdoses and eating disorders rather than the nose bleeds and minor accidents of a decade ago. Head teachers voiced frustration at a lack of mental health support.

Some found it impossible to get specialist help from child and adolescent mental health services, and those with on-site counsellors said that they were overwhelmed. Many pupils’ needs were too complex for the school but not “serious” enough to trigger specialist health