NEWS: Government Expands Mental Health Support in Schools

As reported by gov.uk, school mental health support rollout is set to reach up to 900,000 more pupils this year, covering six in ten children across the country

Almost one million more young people will have access to mental health support in school this year, as the government gets on with delivering its manifesto promise for a national rollout taking a huge step in fixing the inherited challenges facing our children.

Under government plans, all pupils will have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30, delivering on its Plan for Change to improve children’s life chances and tackle the root causes of poor attendance and behaviour.

The support teams are made up of specialists who offer a range of help to identify and tackle issues early on, from group sessions to build children’s resilience to one-to-ones helping to manage anxiety – not only tackling the crisis of poor mental health among young people, but also driving up school attendance.

They work directly with school and college staff alongside NHS services to provide professional advice, easing the pressure on school staff and allowing them to help young people get the right support and stay in education. New research has shown a direct link between the severity of children’s mental health problems and their likelihood to miss school.

The new investment means six in ten pupils will have access to a mental health support team by March 2026, with the rollout prioritised based on NHS identification of local need and reaching the most vulnerable children first.

It comes as government unveils a new programme to provide intensive support for 500 schools with significant attendance and behaviour challenges. New attendance and behaviour hubs, built around 90 schools with a track record of improving attendance and behaviour standards, will directly target the schools with the highest need as well as providing wider support for a further 4,500 in all corners of the country.