Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the mental well-being of primary school students undertaking Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 examinations.

The Department’s aim is for all children to leave primary school feeling that they have worked hard and achieved all that they can. We do not want assessments to worry pupils and impact their self-esteem or mental wellbeing.

In response to the consultation on the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper, published July 2018, the Government has made several commitments to help safeguard the mental wellbeing of primary school children. We confirmed our commitment to take forward three core proposals which will transform support for children and young people by: putting in place Mental Health Support Teams for schools; incentivising every school to have a Designated Senior Lead for mental health; and the piloting of a four-week waiting time standard for NHS Children and Young People’s mental health services.

The Government has also committed to mental health awareness training for a member of staff from all state funded primary schools by 2022, providing further support for schools to help promote mental wellbeing for all children.