Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) teachers and (b) head teachers on mental health support for students.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for children and young people and the department engages regularly with education sector bodies and school leaders. We are expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school and are accelerating rollout to achieve full national coverage by 2029.

The department also provides guidance and resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, developed by working with schools to ensure their needs are met. Resources include a hub for mental health leads, the Targeted Support guidance and Hub and a non-statutory guidance to support schools to take a holistic, preventative approach to mental health and wellbeing, available at:

1. https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources-senior-mental-health/
2. https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/targeted-support/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing

Additionally, we are developing a new mental health strategy for England, to be published later this year. This involved a call for evidence on prevention and support, including from education and training settings, on how to maximise existing policies, such as MHSTs and community-based mental health services.