Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to expand pastoral and mental health support in schools to keep students in education.

The mental health of children is a government priority and we know schools can play a vital role in supporting this. The department is committed to helping all schools provide calm, safe and supportive environments that promote and support mental wellbeing, which can also support attendance, attainment and behaviour. It is up to schools to decide what pastoral support to put in place to support pupils.

The government’s vision for improving school attendance is for pupils, parents, all schools, local authorities, and other partners to work together to prevent patterns of absence from developing. The department has issued guidance for schools, which highlights the importance of a ‘support first’ approach. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance makes clear that schools are expected to work with each identified pupil and their parents to understand and address the reasons for absence, including any in-school barriers to attendance. Where absence persists, schools are expected to take an active part in the multi-agency effort with the local authority and other partners. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

As set out in associated guidance specifically related to mental health and attendance, schools are not expected to diagnose or provide specialist mental health support, but they can play an important role in identifying and responding to emerging or existing mental health issues. This may include providing targeted pastoral support, or ensuring referrals are made to external specialist support.

To help schools make informed decisions on what support to provide, the department is offering funding to all schools and colleges in England to train senior mental health leads who can put in place effective whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. More than 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental health lead training grant, including more than 7 in 10 state-funded secondary schools, backed by a £10 million investment in the 2022/23 financial year. The department is also providing over £1 billion recovery premium funding for schools for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years which, on top of pupil premium, can be used to support pupil mental wellbeing and attendance.

To expand access to early mental health support, the department is working with NHS England to increase the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) working with schools and colleges. MHSTs offer support to children experiencing common mental health problems and liaise with external specialist services to help pupils get the right support and stay in education. As of April 2023, MHSTs covered 35% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. A further 100 teams are expected to be operational by April 2024, to cover an estimated 44% of pupils and learners.