Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evaluation her Department has made of the Mental Health Services and Schools Link Pilots; and what plans she has to extend those pilots.

The pilot of joint training for nominated single points of contact in schools and mental health services is being independently evaluated. The evaluation findings will be available in spring 2017 and will provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the pilot design and implementation, including its sustainability and potential for wider rollout. The evaluation is also looking at the extent to which the pilot resulted in delivery improvements, including in joint working practices between, and the timeliness and appropriateness of referrals from, schools to specialist mental health services; as well as any wider cultural and systems improvements.

We have already shared some of the emerging practice from the pilot through national events, to inform local planning. We will use the formal evaluation findings to determine whether there is value in further roll out of specific training or models of single point of contact, and whether further testing is required of any aspects.