Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mental health interventions will be provided by the Mental Health Support Teams proposed in Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper; whether counselling will be a primary such intervention; and if he will make a statement.

Mental Health Support Teams will be trained to deliver evidence-based interventions for children and young people with mild/moderate needs. The teams will work collaboratively with senior designated leads in schools and colleges and other professionals such as educational psychologists, school nurses, counsellors and social workers to assess children and refer them on for further treatment if necessary. Over the course of the consultation period we are seeking views on the exact role of the teams.

Many schools recognise the important role that making school-based counselling services available in school settings can play and we know from our mental health in schools survey that around 61% of schools offer counselling. The intention of the new Mental Health Support Teams, is to provide the additional, trained health provision that the evidence suggests is needed, complementing existing mental health provision in schools in a way that secures better joint working and understanding between health services and education. We will work with clinical and other experts to design the curriculum for training staff in the mental health support teams, including the interventions that they will be trained to provide, following the consultation. We will test how the teams work through trailblazers, beginning in 2019.