Pupils: Mental Health

(asked on 5th November 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to require schools to provide advice on mental health to pupils.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 15th November 2018

Schools will be required to teach mental health as part of the Department’s plans to make health education compulsory. The Government is currently seeking views on the draft guidance and regulations, which will support the new subjects of relationships education in primary, relationships and sex education in secondary, and health education in all schools. The consultation includes questions on what support schools will need to deliver high-quality teaching. The consultation closed on the 7 November. https://consult.education.gov.uk/pshe/relationships-education-rse-health-education/.

The draft statutory guidance sets out core content that schools will teach. The draft mental health content includes teaching pupils how to recognise and talk about their emotions, how to judge when they or someone they know needs support and prevention, including the benefits of physical exercise.

Schools will decide what further advice to provide to their pupils. To support schools, the Government will fund the training of a Designated Senior Lead for mental health in every school, to put in place a whole school approach to mental health and well-being. This can cover activities as part of pastoral support and advice for individual pupils with specific needs.

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