Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the mental health and well-being of school students.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

That is why the department has committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. We will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) continue to roll out in schools and colleges across the country. As of April 2024, MHSTs covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. MHSTs are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils by the end of March 2025.

The department has also provided a resource hub for mental health leads signposting practical resources and tools to embed effective whole-school approaches. To further help schools identify and embed the most effective targeted support options for their setting, we also launched a targeted mental wellbeing toolkit. This practical guide and tool covers a range of evidence-based interventions.