Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many full-time equivalent mental health professionals were working in schools in the (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23 academic years.

The requested information on mental health professionals working in schools is not collected centrally.

The department collects information on staff working in state funded schools via the annual School Workforce Census but does not directly identify mental health professionals. The results are published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics release, accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

The mental health of children and young people is a government priority. To expand access to early mental health support, the department is working with NHS England to increase the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) working with schools and colleges. These teams include trained professionals who can offer support to children experiencing common mental health problems and liaise with external specialist services to help pupils get the right support. As of April 2023, MHSTs covered 35% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. A further 100 teams are expected to be operational by April 2024, when MHSTs will cover an estimated 44% of pupils and learners.