Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has any plans to increase training on ADHD for school staff.

High-quality professional development is important for teachers at all stages of their careers. Decisions relating to teachers’ continuing professional development rests with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements. This may include further training and development relating to pupils and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

All new teachers receive at least three years of evidence-based professional development and support, starting with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) based on the new ITT Core Content Framework (CCF), and followed by a new two-year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF). The CCF and ECF set out a minimum entitlement of knowledge, skills and experiences that trainees need to enter the profession in the best position possible to teach and support all pupils to succeed, including those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the SEND Code of Practice. ITT courses must be designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 5 that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including, where appropriate, those with ADHD or other special educational needs. Information on the Teachers' Standards are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-standards.

The department is also launching a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and school leaders at all levels. Eligible teachers and leaders will be able to access fully funded scholarships to undertake NPQs from autumn 2021. These NPQs have been designed around how to support all pupils to succeed, including those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the SEND Code of Practice, and children in need of help and protection as identified in the Children in Need Review.

Through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, the department is continuing in the 2021-22 financial year to fund the Whole School SEND Consortium to provide the schools workforce with training and resources to support children and young people with SEND, including those with ADHD.

We are also supporting education settings to develop whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing, and have:

• Provided funding to enable up to 7,800 schools and colleges in England to train a senior mental health lead from their staff this academic year
• Funded an adapted ‘Link' programme, which is designed to improve partnerships between health and education leaders in local areas, raise awareness of mental health concerns and improve referrals to specialist help when needed
• Established new Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to support groups of schools and colleges. MHSTs provide early intervention on mild to moderate issues, as well as helping staff within a school or college setting to provide a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. The ambition is that new MHSTs will be established in 35% of the country by 2023, with 183 teams already operational and ready to support children and young people in around 3,000 schools and colleges