Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children's (a) mental health and (b) academic attainment following the covid-19 pandemic.

Helping pupils recover from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the Department’s main priorities.

The Department is committed to ensuring all schools are calm, safe and supportive learning environments that promote and support mental health and wellbeing. The Department is offering schools and colleges funding to train a senior mental health lead who can put in place an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing. Over 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a training grant, including more than 7 in 10 state funded secondary schools.

As of September 2020, the health education curriculum has a strong focus on mental wellbeing. Pupils are taught the links between physical and mental health, how to recognise and talk openly regarding their emotions, and how and where to seek support if they are concerned for their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing.

When a pupil is struggling with their mental health, it is vital to intervene early. That is why the Department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to continue the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams across schools and colleges. These teams currently cover 35% of pupils in schools and further education and will increase to an estimated 44% of pupils by April 2024.

Raising attainment for all pupils is at the heart of this Government’s agenda. The Department is committed to helping every pupil to fulfil their potential by ensuring they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.

The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that. Overall, the core schools budget is rising by over £3.9 billion this year alone, compared to the 2022/23 financial year. This is on top of a £4 billion cash increase last year, a 16% increase in just two years. School funding in 2024/25 will be more than £59.6 billion, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.

This funding will enable headteachers to continue to spend in the areas that we know positively affect educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the pupils who need it most.

Also, the Department’s multi year recovery funding which made available almost £5 billion continues to be delivered, and much of the extra recovery funding the Department has made available, for instance in staff development, will have benefits for years to come.

The Department is continuing to deliver the proposals set out in the Schools White Paper, which aim to improve outcomes for all pupils, with specific focus on raising attainment for disadvantaged pupils.

Schools continue to receive the Pupil Premium to enable them to provide extra support and so improve disadvantaged pupils’ academic and personal achievements. Pupil Premium rates will increase by 5% for 2023/24, taking total Pupil Premium funding to £2.9 billion.

The Department is funding 55 Education Investment Areas (EIA), of which 24 are Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIA). In each of the 24 PEIAs, the Department will also make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available in EIAs, including a share of up to £42 million through the Local Needs Fund to address specific local barriers through bespoke interventions to improve attainment at Key Stages 2 and 4. PEIAs are also benefiting from having enhanced or priority access to a number of other programmes offered by the Department, including Maths Hubs and Connect the Classroom.