Schools: Mental Health and Poor Attendance

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the links between rising levels of mental health issues among school age children and poor school attendance; and what steps they are planning to take to address the situation.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)]

My Lords, mental ill-health and inadequate access to support are real challenges facing children today and have a detrimental impact on their school attendance. This is despite the excellent work done by education and health staff across the country. Poor mental health and low attendance are mutually reinforcing barriers to opportunity and learning. That is why we are committed to providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and developing new young futures hubs.

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her Answer. As she has acknowledged, the evidence increasingly shows a clear link between school absences and poor mental health. There is also a growing recognition of the gap in mental health support available to children who need a greater level of support than is currently available in school mental health teams but do not require specialist treatment from CAMHS, and that this gap is best filled, as happens in Scotland and Wales, by school counsellors and suitably qualified practitioners. She talked about providing specialist mental health support for every school, mirroring my recent Private Member’s Bill, and I very much welcome that. Could she confirm when these proposals will be brought forward and whether they will include primary as well as secondary schools?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My Lords, I know that the noble Baroness has done much work in this area and, obviously, has had a Private Member’s Bill on it. Access to mental health professionals will be for all schools, secondary and primary. We are working with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that we get that model right and that we can, as she emphasises, provide that early support to alleviate the need for more acute mental health provision for young people, I hope.