Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of schools with Mental Health Support Workers.

Promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges is a priority for the government. The department works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England/Improvement to introduce Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), to work closely with schools and colleges. MHSTs are intended to provide early intervention on mild to moderate mental health issues, as well as helping staff within a school or college setting to provide a ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing.

There are now over 280 MHSTs set up or in training. 183 teams are operational and ready to support children and young people in around 3,000 schools and colleges, covering 15% of pupils in England. A further 104 teams are in development with more to be commissioned this year, which will deliver the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to reach 20-25% of pupils a year early (2022). In March 2021, DHSC announced £79 million to significantly expand children’s mental health services. Part of this will be spent on speeding up and expanding the provision of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges. By 2023, we plan to have a total of around 400 MHSTs, covering an estimated 3 million children and young people (around 35% of pupils in England).

A high-level MHST breakdown by year, region and area can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/.