Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the extra resources they have provided to schools to prevent and tackle mental health problems will be effective.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government recognises the importance of schools and colleges having access to expertise relating to mental health and wellbeing. The new Mental Health Support Teams that the government is introducing to support groups of schools can help to provide that expertise. The teams will consist of staff trained in evidence-based interventions, supervised by clinically-trained staff. The rollout of the new teams will start with a trailblazer project that will be evaluated. The trailblazers will test how teams work with schools, to ensure the additional support is benefitting schools and their pupils.
The department is also trialling five school-based approaches to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. This large programme will provide schools with evidence on the effectiveness of different types of provisions. It will also review how these interventions can be delivered effectively in a school setting.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the current educational system's (1) use of early testing, (2) exam focus, and (3) practice of comparing pupils with each other, on the creation of a positive environment for the mental health of both pupils and teachers.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Assessments, including the national curriculum tests at key stages 1 and 2 and GCSE and A level exams, are an essential part of ensuring that children and young people are taught the knowledge and skills they need in order to succeed in further study and in later life. Statutory assessments at key stages 1 and 2 help teachers to understand how their pupils are performing against national expectations and enable them to identify where extra support may be needed. Both these statutory assessments and the qualifications taken at secondary level enable the government to hold schools and colleges to account, and in doing so help to ensure that they offer a high quality education to all their pupils, regardless of background or prior attainment.
Tests and exams can be a time of heightened emotions for pupils and teachers, but they are not meant to cause stress and anxiety. Schools should encourage all pupils to work hard and achieve well, but this should not be at the expense of their wellbeing. They should also provide appropriate support as part of a whole school approach to supporting the wellbeing and resilience of pupils.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the work undertaken by the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust on mental health in schools.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department is supportive of the work that the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust does to raise the profile of depression and mental health issues in children and young people and to encourage discussion of the subject. Officials from the department have met members of the trust and the Charlie Waller Institute on several occasions to discuss the support they offer and the training they have developed for schools, supported by funding from Health Education England.
Both organisations have been involved in stakeholder events to discuss mental health policy; they were also invited to attend the consultation events for the Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision Green Paper. The department will continue to engage with the Charlie Walker Memorial Trust as the green paper proposals are reviewed, and as the support that can be offered to schools for delivering the new requirement to teach all pupils about mental health is being considered.