Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that primary school students are supported with their mental health.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The mental health of children and young people is a priority for this government. The department is committed to ensuring that all schools are safe, calm and supportive environments, which promote mental wellbeing and provide early, targeted support to help all pupils thrive.
To ensure pupils are supported, the department is offering all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges a grant to train senior mental health leads who can put in place effective, whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. More than 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental health lead training grant.
It is also vital that children and young people have the tools they need to understand and look after their own mental wellbeing. That is why, as of September 2020, our relationships, health and sex education curriculum has a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing. At primary, pupils will learn simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests. At secondary, teaching will include the benefits of community participation, and voluntary and service-based activities on mental wellbeing and happiness.
Through health education, pupils will also be taught how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health, such as anxiety and depression. They will also be taught where and how to seek support, including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions.
We are also increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) working in schools and colleges. These teams offer support to children and young people experiencing common mental health issues and facilitate smoother access to external specialist support. As of March 2023, 3.4 million pupils and learners were covered by MHSTs in schools and colleges in England. Of these, 3.1 million were pupils in schools.
We welcome the findings of the Independent Early Evaluation of Children and Young People’s Mental Health MHST Trailblazer Programme, which revealed substantial progress in implementing MHSTs, despite challenges presented by the pandemic. The findings can be found at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/projects/children-and-young-people%27s-mental-health-trailblazer-programme.aspx. Positive early impacts include improved school and college staff knowledge and confidence in dealing with mental health issues, improved access to support for some groups, and improvements in partnership working. The study also found the experiences of the majority of children and young people who had contact with an MHST were positive. The results of the report will continue to help inform future rollout and mobilisation of MHSTs to support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people.
Further data on the delivery and uptake of MHSTs and senior mental health lead training grants can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of mental health support teams in schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The mental health of children and young people is a priority for this government. The department is committed to ensuring that all schools are safe, calm and supportive environments, which promote mental wellbeing and provide early, targeted support to help all pupils thrive.
To ensure pupils are supported, the department is offering all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges a grant to train senior mental health leads who can put in place effective, whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. More than 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental health lead training grant.
It is also vital that children and young people have the tools they need to understand and look after their own mental wellbeing. That is why, as of September 2020, our relationships, health and sex education curriculum has a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing. At primary, pupils will learn simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests. At secondary, teaching will include the benefits of community participation, and voluntary and service-based activities on mental wellbeing and happiness.
Through health education, pupils will also be taught how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health, such as anxiety and depression. They will also be taught where and how to seek support, including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions.
We are also increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) working in schools and colleges. These teams offer support to children and young people experiencing common mental health issues and facilitate smoother access to external specialist support. As of March 2023, 3.4 million pupils and learners were covered by MHSTs in schools and colleges in England. Of these, 3.1 million were pupils in schools.
We welcome the findings of the Independent Early Evaluation of Children and Young People’s Mental Health MHST Trailblazer Programme, which revealed substantial progress in implementing MHSTs, despite challenges presented by the pandemic. The findings can be found at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/projects/children-and-young-people%27s-mental-health-trailblazer-programme.aspx. Positive early impacts include improved school and college staff knowledge and confidence in dealing with mental health issues, improved access to support for some groups, and improvements in partnership working. The study also found the experiences of the majority of children and young people who had contact with an MHST were positive. The results of the report will continue to help inform future rollout and mobilisation of MHSTs to support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people.
Further data on the delivery and uptake of MHSTs and senior mental health lead training grants can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in schools in England are covered by mental health support teams in schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The mental health of children and young people is a priority for this government. The department is committed to ensuring that all schools are safe, calm and supportive environments, which promote mental wellbeing and provide early, targeted support to help all pupils thrive.
To ensure pupils are supported, the department is offering all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges a grant to train senior mental health leads who can put in place effective, whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. More than 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental health lead training grant.
It is also vital that children and young people have the tools they need to understand and look after their own mental wellbeing. That is why, as of September 2020, our relationships, health and sex education curriculum has a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing. At primary, pupils will learn simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests. At secondary, teaching will include the benefits of community participation, and voluntary and service-based activities on mental wellbeing and happiness.
Through health education, pupils will also be taught how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health, such as anxiety and depression. They will also be taught where and how to seek support, including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions.
We are also increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) working in schools and colleges. These teams offer support to children and young people experiencing common mental health issues and facilitate smoother access to external specialist support. As of March 2023, 3.4 million pupils and learners were covered by MHSTs in schools and colleges in England. Of these, 3.1 million were pupils in schools.
We welcome the findings of the Independent Early Evaluation of Children and Young People’s Mental Health MHST Trailblazer Programme, which revealed substantial progress in implementing MHSTs, despite challenges presented by the pandemic. The findings can be found at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/projects/children-and-young-people%27s-mental-health-trailblazer-programme.aspx. Positive early impacts include improved school and college staff knowledge and confidence in dealing with mental health issues, improved access to support for some groups, and improvements in partnership working. The study also found the experiences of the majority of children and young people who had contact with an MHST were positive. The results of the report will continue to help inform future rollout and mobilisation of MHSTs to support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people.
Further data on the delivery and uptake of MHSTs and senior mental health lead training grants can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Answer of 18 January 2023 to Question 126752, on Schools: Mental Health Service, whether (a) her Department is or (b) school are recruiting any mental health specialists as part of her Department's plan to fund all schools and colleges in England to train senior mental health leads.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Overall, taking the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations and the additional funding announced in the Autumn Statement 2022 together, core schools funding is increasing by £3.5 billion in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. This takes the total core schools budget for 2023/24 to £57.3 billion.
The Autumn Statement 2022 announced that the core schools budget will increase by £2.0 billion in 2023/24 and a further £2.0 billion in 2024/25, over and above totals announced at Spending Review 2021. This brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, up from £43.5 billion in 2019/20. The increases in funding mean that 2024/25 will be the highest ever level of spending on schools in real terms per pupil.
Schools will have flexibility over how they use the additional grant funding to support their pupils. It will enable school leaders to invest in the areas that we know positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most, as well as helping schools to manage higher costs, including, for example, higher energy bills and staff pay awards.
As part of increases to the core schools budget, pupil premium rates will increase by 5% for 2023/24, a £180 million increase from 2022/23, taking total pupil premium funding to £2.9 billion. This will support schools to improve the attainment and wider outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those with social, emotional, and mental health needs.
The government is not directly recruiting mental health specialists for schools. Schools are best placed to decide what support to provide and which specialists to recruit to respond to the mental health needs of their pupils. Senior mental health leads will be trained to inform their school’s decision.
Where specialists are recruited into schools to support pupil mental health, it is vital that appropriate links are made with local, specialist services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to ensure children and young people receive the right support for their need. To strengthen the link between education settings and specialist services such as CAMHS, the department is introducing mental health support teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges across the country. The teams include additional trained professionals who can provide support directly to pupils as well as supporting school staff.
These teams now reach 26% of pupils, a year earlier than originally planned. This will increase to 399 teams, covering around 35% of pupils, by April 2023, with over 500 planned to be up and running by 2024. Further information is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/.
To expand access to specialist support, the NHS Long Term Plan commits to increasing investment in mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 and aims for an additional 345,000 children and young people to be able to access NHS-funded mental health support by 2023/24.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many mental health sick days were taken by (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers in each academic year since 2010.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of teacher working days recorded as sickness absence as a result of mental ill health is unavailable.
The number and rates of teacher sickness absence is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b73b4302-b89f-4295-8b34-08dafb06f66e.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of mental health support available within schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Schools are best placed to decide themselves what support to offer to their pupils to support their mental health and wellbeing. The department does not collect detailed data on provision in schools, but does ask questions about schools’ perceptions of mental health support as part of our regular omnibus surveys, the results of which are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-panel-omnibus-surveys-for-2021-to-2022.
To help schools to make informed decisions on what support to provide, the department is funding all schools and colleges in England to train senior mental health leads who can put in place whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. This includes how to make sure they are including processes for identifying students, or specific groups, who need additional mental health support. Two thirds of schools and colleges will have been able to access funding by April 2023, backed by a £10 million investment for the 2022/23 financial year.
There are also currently 287 mental health support teams in place in around 4,700 schools and colleges across the country, offering support to children experiencing common mental health issues and and facilitating smoother access to external specialist support such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. These teams now cover 26% of pupils a year earlier than originally planned, and this will increase to 399 teams, covering around 35% of pupils by April 2023, with over 500 planned to be up and running by 2024. Further information is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support university students with their mental health.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department works closely with the Office for Students (OfS) and the higher education (HE) sector to promote and fund effective practice around supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people.
This government is investing at least £2.3 billion a year of extra funding to expand and transform mental health services by 2023/24, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. In addition, £500 million has been provided in 2021/22, which included £79 million for young people’s mental health services last year, enabling around 22,500 more children and young people to access support in their communities, and across education settings.
To ensure that all students have access to dedicated mental health support no matter where they study, the department have asked the OfS to fund Student Space, a mental health and wellbeing online platform for students, with up to £3.6 million invested so far. It has been accessed by over 250,000 students since its launch in August 2020. The website for Student Space can be found here: https://www.studentspace.org.uk.
The OfS has allocated an additional £15 million in the financial year 2022/23 to help address the challenges to student mental health posed by the transition to university, and to support joined up working with NHS services. This funding targets those students in greatest need of such services, including vulnerable groups and hard to reach students.
To make faster progress, the OfS will allocate up to £3 million of this funding towards developing stronger partnership working with NHS services. Ministers from the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care chaired a summit in June 2022 to launch this work, and the departments continue to work together to achieve this common goal.
It is essential that universities have access to robust evidence regarding effective practice. Alongside funding of £9 million over the past 4 years to develop innovative approaches to supporting student mental health, the OfS has recently commissioned a consortium, led by the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO) to establish and disseminate successful approaches across the sector. This work will lead to the creation of a central, online hub to share better ways to support student mental health.
In May 2022 the department appointed university Vice-Chancellor Edward Peck as HE's first ever Student Support Champion. His role will include promotion of technologies to flag the early warning signs where students may be struggling.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number of sick days that were taken by staff due to mental health illness in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England in the period between September 2021 and August 2022.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The information requested is not held centrally. Information on the overall number of days of teacher sickness absence is collected from state-funded schools in England in the November School Workforce Census. However, this does not include the reason for the sickness absence.
Each census collects data for absence from the previous academic year. The November 2022 census, covering the period September 2021 to August 2022, will be published in summer 2023 in the annual school workforce statistical publication. The latest report can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number of sick days that were taken by pupils due to mental health illness in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England in the period between September 2021 and August 2022.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department does not collect data on sickness absence due to mental health illness of pupils.
Data on children who are absent because of illness overall is included in the publication on pupil absence in schools in England, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.
Attendance guidance makes clear that schools must record absences as authorised where pupils cannot attend due to illness (both physical and mental health related).
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) implement the guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence entitled Social, emotional and mental wellbeing in primary and secondary education, NG223, published on 6 July 2022, in educational settings.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
As recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, the department has committed to offer all state schools and colleges a grant to train a senior mental health lead by 2025. This is backed by £10 million in the 2022/23 academic year, sufficient to enable up to two thirds of state schools and colleges to access training by April 2023. Over 8,000 schools and colleges, including over half of state-funded secondary schools in England, have taken up the offer so far.
The NICE guidance also highlights the importance of identifying individual children and young people for targeted support based on their specific needs. As part of training senior mental health leads, senior leaders will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to understand the mental health needs of their student population and consider the range of in-school provision needed.
To expand access to early support in schools and colleges, the department is increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams, so they cover approximately 35% of pupils in England by 2023, with over 500 planned to be up and running by 2024. The teams work alongside and complement existing provision in schools and colleges, such as counselling services, to help ensure children and young people get the targeted support they need.
The department is also funding a large-scale randomised control trial of approaches to improving pupil mental wellbeing in schools, to provide evidence on what works to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing and how it can be delivered effectively in a school setting. This will further inform schools on what approaches and interventions work in a school environment to improve wellbeing.