Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that schools can respond effectively to children and young people’s mental health needs when they return in September 2020.

The Department for Education has published detailed plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance highlights the particular need to focus on pastoral support and mental wellbeing as a central part of what schools provide, in order to re-engage them and rebuild social interaction with their friends and teachers. This will involve curriculum provision as well as extra-curricular and pastoral support, and that Department’s recently published relationships, sex and health education training module will support teachers with preparation to deliver content on mental health and wellbeing.

We are also implementing the core proposals in our response to the consultation ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’ Green Paper including, where possible, adapting the support made available during the COVID-19 outbreak to the circumstances that schools and colleges and children and young people will face once the new academic year starts.