Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that children and teenagers receive adequate mental health care and support in schools, with particular reference to school nursing and pastoral provision.

Schools have a duty to promote pupils' mental and physical development and are held to account by Ofsted for doing so. The new 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability code of practice, which was put before Parliament on 11th June 2014, makes it clear that schools should look to identify any underlying mental health needs that pupils have. To support this on the 16 June the Department for Education issued new information and advice for schools and teachers on pupils' mental health and behaviour. This advice helps school staff identify those pupils who may have emerging problems and provides guidance on appropriate routes of ensuring specialist support where necessary.

The curriculum gives schools the freedom to address any specific pastoral issues that pupils may have, and teachers can raise awareness of mental health issues in PSHE lessons. Additionally, many schools provide targeted assessment and support. A survey conducted by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2012 estimated between 60-85% of English secondary schools provide access to counselling, delivering up to 70,000 sessions a year.

School nurses are in an ideal position to promote and maintain the health of children and young people. On 31 March the Department of Health and Public Health England published the Promoting emotional wellbeing and positive mental health of children and young people pathway. This provides a structured framework for school nurses, clarifying roles and responsibilities and giving information to enhance partnership working across agencies to support the emotional health of children and young people and to ensure early support is offered.