Schools: Mental Health Services
(asked on 25th February 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure there is adequate mental health support available in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
Answered by
Olivia Bailey
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029.
As of April 2025, 47% of pupils in primary schools and 70% in secondary schools were covered by an MHST. Further data for 2024/25 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision. This has been available since 16 May 2025 at national, regional and local authority level, and since 10 July 2025 at constituency level. Around six in ten pupils nationally are expected to have access to an MHST by April 2026.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
To support education staff, the department provides guidance and practical resources on supporting pupils’ mental health, including a resource hub for mental health leads and a toolkit to select evidence-based targeted support.