Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what compulsory training is provided to auxiliary staff in schools to assist them in dealing with students suffering severe mental anxiety.

There is no compulsory training for school staff. Head teachers are best placed to make decisions about what professional development is required by school staff in order to meet the needs of their pupils. A report in 2014 by the independent Think Tank CentreForum found that, out of 750 schools surveyed, 91% had access to training and professional development opportunities on mental health issues.

In June 2014, in order to help school staff identify and support children and young people with mental health issues, the Department for Education issued advice for schools and staff on pupils’ mental health and behaviour: www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2. This provides information, guidance and practical tools on how to build resilience and support good mental health. This guidance highlights that schools can use MindEd www.minded.org.uk, an online resource funded by the Department of Health that provides information and training on mental health issues for all adults who work with children and young people.

However, most school staff are not mental health professionals and need to have timely access to appropriate specialist support when necessary. We have been working with the Department of Health and NHS England’s Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce on how to improve child and adolescent mental health services, and develop the way services work with schools. The taskforce is due to report later this month.

Many schools provide pupils with access to counselling services. With the support of experts across the sector, the Department for Education is developing advice on what makes for good quality counselling services in primary and secondary schools. This will be published in March 2015.