Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training is given to teachers at maintained schools to (a) support the mental health of their students and (b) spot the early signs of emerging mental health problems.

The Government believes that professional development for teachers is important to help support and enable teachers to improve their practice, and an assessment of training and development needs must be included in teachers' written appraisal reports. Headteachers and teachers are best placed to make decisions about what professional development they require in order to meet the needs of their pupils.

To support this, on the 16 June 2014 the Department for Education issued new non-statutory guidance for schools and teachers on pupil's mental health and behaviour. This guidance gives information, guidance and practical tools on how to build resilience and support good mental health. It also helps school staff identify those pupils who may have emerging problems and provides guidance on appropriate routes of support.

We put before Parliament a new 0-25 SEN and Disability Code of Practice. This makes it clear that schools should look to identify any underlying mental health needs that pupils have. The Code emphasises the importance of staff development and provides a number of signposts to specific support. This includes further support for teachers and adults working with children and young people, which is available through MindEd www.minded.org.uk, a website funded by the Department of Health that helps adults identify and support children and young people's mental health issues.