Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase attendance in post-16 education for students with anxiety.

The mental health and wellbeing of young people is a priority for this government, and we know post-16 providers can play a critical role in this. Colleges that take an effective whole-college approach are best placed to promote and support learners’ mental health and wellbeing, which can in turn can improve attendance.

The department has coordinated several programmes that are available to colleges to support the mental health of post-16 learners, including those with anxiety. This has included the opportunity for all colleges in England to access senior mental health leads training by 2025, and a £79 million boost to young people mental health support, including expanding Mental Health Support Teams, to bring colleges closer with mental health professionals in their local area.

Colleges funded through the £5.4 million College Collaboration Fund developed new creative ways to support learner mental health and wellbeing, with resources available to all Further Education (FE) providers online, while the Challenge Competition Fund has delivered project funding which has involved FE colleges, such as the University of Keele’s project to integrate a ‘whole community’ approach to mental health, including both FE and higher education providers in the region.

As part of our commitment to a long-term education recovery plan, the department is investing over £800 million across the next three academic years to fund an average of 40 additional learning hours for band 5 and T Level students in 16 to 19 education. The additional hours can be used to support areas where there are barriers for learners to effectively access and engage with teaching and learning, which can include their mental health.