Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what interaction at a local level Mental Health Support Teams are expected to have with Local Authorities and Academy Trusts on improving school attendance.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHST’s) are expected to work collaboratively with local authorities and local education settings as part of a whole-system approach to improving school attendance. The MHST role is to support early identification and intervention for common mental health needs that may be contributing to absence, and to support education staff in implementing plans to reduce absence.

The Department for Education’s Working Together to Improve School Attendance statutory guidance is clear that schools and local authorities should work collaboratively with other partners, including MSHTs, to facilitate support for pupils and remove mental health-related barriers to attendance.