Schools: Mental Health Services

(asked on 8th February 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department has changed the criteria on the latest date to commence training for the senior mental health lead training grant.


Answered by
Claire Coutinho Portrait
Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
This question was answered on 22nd February 2023

The department is committed to offering senior mental health lead training to all eligible schools and colleges by 2025. More than 10,000 schools and colleges have received senior mental health lead training grants so far, which includes more than 6 in 10 state-funded secondary schools. A further £10 million provided this year means up to two thirds of state schools and colleges can benefit by April 2023.

​In February 2023, the department announced that eligible schools and colleges are now able to use a grant to book courses that start before 31 July 2023, providing they claim their grant by 31 March 2023. The update to the guidance page on 8 February 2023 confirms this and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/senior-mental-health-lead-training.​

​This change will give senior mental health leads the flexibility they need to plan ahead for this academic year by allowing them to book onto a quality assured training course at a time of their choosing.

​The guidance will be further updated to confirm the grants available for the entirety of the 2023/24 financial year in due course.​

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