Schools: Counselling

(asked on 18th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of counselling services provided in schools in (a) England and (b) Staffordshire; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 21st March 2019

The Department recognises that school based counselling by well-qualified practitioners can play an effective role as part of a whole school approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing. It is for schools to decide what support to put in place based on the particular needs of their pupils.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of counselling services provided in schools. However, the Department's nationally representative survey of school provision published in 2017 indicated that 61% of schools offer counselling services, with 84% of secondary schools providing their pupils with access to counselling support.[1] To support schools to provide counselling, the Government has provided advice on how to deliver high quality school-based counselling.[2]

The Government is introducing new mental health support teams to provide additional support linked to groups of schools and colleges. The first teams are being set up in 25 areas of the country this year. The aim is for these teams to work together with existing provision, including school-based counselling. The Government will evaluate their introduction to ensure that they do not displace existing provision.

[1] Supporting Mental Health in Schools and Colleges (2017).

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.

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