Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the reasons why the UK ranked 40th for children’s well-being out of the 44 countries that took part in the OECD’s PISA 2018 rankings; and what steps the Government is taking to improve its position in those rankings.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Good mental wellbeing is a priority for this Government. The Department is looking carefully at the evidence about children and young people’s mental wellbeing and how to support it. In October 2019, we published the first ‘State of the Nation’ report on children and young people’s wellbeing to bring together the evidence for England, which has shown a slight fall in recent years. The full report is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2019-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.
The Department is taking forward a wide range of work to ensure that wellbeing is at the forefront of our approach to supporting children and young people in schools. This includes teaching pupils about looking after their mental health and wellbeing through the introduction of the new subjects of relationships, sex and health education. This will include the importance of sleep, understanding the benefits of rationing time online and the risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices, including how the content can affect their own and others’ mental and physical wellbeing.
The Department is also improving collaboration with external agencies, to ensure those pupils that need specialist support and treatment get it quickly. In particular, we have a major joint programme of work with NHS England to introduce new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, and to support schools and colleges to put in place senior mental health leads.
The Department has several further initiatives in place to support schools to develop and implement whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. These include trialling approaches to promoting positive mental wellbeing to ensure pupils have access to evidence based early support and interventions – the largest trial in the world of its kind, piloting different approaches to peer-to-peer support, and rolling out Mental Health Awareness Training to all state-funded secondary schools, to improve capability to identify potential issues.
The Public Health England Rise Above programme in schools and online provides advice for children and young people on coping strategies for modern life. These strategies include dealing with difficult emotions and situations that can lead to problems such as stress, bullying and self-harm. Details can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/phe-launches-rise-above-for-schools-programme.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's guidance to schools on supporting students affected by self-harm.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has taken a range of actions to help schools and colleges to respond to and prevent self-harm. Training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed with Government funding to provide information on mental health problems to all professionals working with young people. The Government is also funding the offer of mental health awareness training to all schools. From September 2020, Relationships, Sex and Health Education will be compulsory. This will include content on mental health and wellbeing as well as the rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise harmful content and risks.
Schools and colleges must also have regard to the statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The Department requires all school and college staff to receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training, so they know what to do if they suspect a child is at risk of harm, including self-harm.
Guidance to schools cannot be sufficient on its own. Where more serious problems occur, schools and colleges need specialist support. The Government has made available an additional £1.4 billion in England to transform children and young people’s mental health services. The commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan will build on this, including by providing mental health support teams to work directly with schools and colleges, and expanding timely, age appropriate crisis services.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to prevent self-harm among teenagers.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
We updated the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England earlier this year. This included expanding its scope to address self-harm as an issue in its own right. We are investing £247 million to implement mental health liaison teams in acute hospitals by 2020/21, with 50% meeting the core 24 standard to provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mental health liaison teams will be well placed to support people who present at emergency departments for self-harm. We are investing £400 million to implement improved crisis resolution and home treatment teams in the community and we are committed to implementing a community-based pathway of care for self-harm by 2019.
The Department funds the Multi-Centre Study of Self-Harm in England which collects and monitors data on people who present at emergency departments across three centres in Derby, Manchester and Oxford to provide analysis of self-harming trends which informs policy development.
We are ensuring that every local area has a suicide prevention plan in place by the end of the year and we will be working with local authorities to support them in quality assuring their plans. We expect local authorities to reflect the national key areas for action in the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, including on self-harm, within their plans. This means local multi-agency groups working across all local services, including the voluntary sector, to tailor specific suicide and self-harm interventions to support high risk groups in their communities.
We are looking at the impact of the internet and social media on the mental wellbeing of young people. The Department of Health works with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to improve safety online and especially for young people through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published a national Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper this year which seeks to address a wide range of potential harms online, including suicidal and self-harm content. We work with a wide range of stakeholders including the Samaritans to explore issues such as the responsible reporting of suicide and self-harm in the media and are working with online and social media providers to improve the way that online users can report harmful content or to signpost people who may search for suicide or self-harm content.
The Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy also highlights that action should be taken to tailor approaches to the specific mental health needs of some groups such as children and young people. Earlier this month we published the joint health and education Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper, ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, which sets out ambitious proposals for prevention and early intervention and improving access to children and young people’s mental health services. We are also rolling out Mental Health First Aid training to secondary schools by 2019 and expanding this to primary schools to equip teachers to spot the signs of mental health problems earlier and to support their pupils and signpost or refer them to specialist mental health services where appropriate.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of curriculum content on self-harm; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make teaching about self-harm compulsory as part of the national curriculum.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We want to provide all young people with a curriculum that prepares them to succeed in modern Britain. The majority of schools and teachers already recognise the importance of good PSHE education and know that healthy, resilient and confident pupils are better-placed to achieve academically and be stretched further.
Schools and teachers have the freedom to decide what to cover as part of their PSHE lessons, based on the needs and views of their pupils. Schools are encouraged to teach pupils about mental health and emotional wellbeing as part of a developmental PSHE education curriculum.
To support schools in developing their PSHE curriculum, we have funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans to teach about mental health, including self-harm. The guidance is available at: https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources?ResourceTypeID=3.
We recognise that we need to look again at how schools deliver high quality PSHE and we are considering all options.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mental health support is provided in schools to assist pupils with (a) self-harm and (b) body image related issues.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Good mental health and wellbeing is a priority for this Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing.
Schools should take prompt action to deal with cases of self- harm. The Department has taken a range of actions to help schools build a school-wide approach to good mental wellbeing. We have funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in personal, social, health and economic education, which covers teaching about self-harm and body image. In addition, training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal that has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people to learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them. We have also revised and updated our blueprint for effective school-based counselling.
However, teachers are not mental health specialists. We have contributed to a £3 million joint pilot between schools and children and young people’s mental health services to help schools access specialist support for their pupils, where needed.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the levels of self-harm among (a) boys and (b) girls in secondary schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Self-harm occurs in relation to a wide range of personal problems, emotional turmoil and psychiatric disorders, and is a serious concern. The government does not collect central data on cases of self-harm by school-age children, but the Department of Health is currently commissioning a new national prevalence survey for children and young people’s mental health which is due to report its findings in 2018.
Schools should take prompt action to deal with cases of self- harm. The Department has taken a range of actions to help them to build a whole-school approach to good mental wellbeing, which includes being informed about self-harm. We funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE – which covers teaching about self-harm. Training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them. We have also revised and updated our blueprint for effective school-based counselling.
However, teachers are not mental health specialists and can need specialist support in deciding how to respond. We have contributed to a £3m joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to help schools draw on specialist support for their pupils; where needed.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why school pupils self-harm, and what measures they propose to tackle that problem.
Answered by Lord Nash
Good mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for this Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing.
Self-harm occurs in relation to a wide range of personal problems, emotional turmoil and psychiatric disorders. The Department of Health commissions the MultiCentre Study on self-harm. This provides essential information on self-harm in the population to inform clinical responses and preventative activity. New data coming on stream through the Public Health Outcomes Framework and the forthcoming prevalence survey for children and young people will help to further improve this assessment and treatment.
To help schools to draw on specialist support where needed, we have contributed to a £3m joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to test single points of contact in schools and mental health services.
While teachers are not mental health specialists, schools can play an important role in building good mental wellbeing and supporting pupils where they have issues. We have taken a range of actions to help them to build a whole-school approach to good mental wellbeing. We funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE – which covers teaching about self-harm; training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them.
We have also recently revised and updated our blueprint for effective school-based counselling. This provides practical, evidence-based advice, informed by experts on how to ensure school based counselling services achieve the best outcomes for all students, including vulnerable children and young people.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential link between social media and self-harm among young people.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We recognise the potential influence of online platforms, including social media, on both promoting self-harm and supporting people who have or may be at risk of self-harm.
There is a link between bullying including cyberbullying and self-harm and the Department for Education produced guidance in October 2014, advising schools about preventing bullying. This guidance refers to new powers under the Education Act 2011 for teachers to search pupils, to confiscate IT equipment including mobile phones and to destroy offensive or inappropriate images.
The Government continues to provide financial support for the Multi-Centre Study of Self-Harm in England, which monitors trends in self-harm and recognises the potential influence of online platforms on self-harming in young people.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport expects social media companies to have robust processes in place to address inappropriate and abusive content on their sites. This includes having clear reporting channels, acting promptly to assess reports, and removing content which does not comply with their acceptable use policies or terms and conditions. Social media can also help signpost vulnerable users to helpful sources of information and support.
Recently, Ofcom led a social media working group on behalf of UK Council for Child Internet Safety to develop best practice guidance to encourage responsible practice from industry, and ensure children using their services are able to do so in a safe and protected way. This guidance was delivered on 22 December 2015 and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-council-for-child-internet-safety-ukccis
The Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research has also funded ongoing research by the Samaritans and Bristol University into the influence on online platforms on suicidal behaviour.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent of self-harm among school children as a consequence of bullying in the education system.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department has not made a systematic assessment of the extent of self-harm as a consequence of bullying. There is wide variation in reported rates of self-harming among school children because individuals often do not disclose it. However, schools are well placed to spot a change in behaviour that may indicate something is wrong. To assist school staff, we published advice for schools on mental health and behaviour, providing teachers with information and tools that will help them to identify and support pupils with mental health needs, including advice about making referrals to a specialist service when necessary. The advice includes specific information about self-harm and effective treatment, as well as a school case study about how to address mental health issues in a non-stigmatising way in the classroom.
The SEND Code of Practice makes it clear that schools need to look past any behaviour issues to identify underlying problems, including mental health issues, and put support in place where learning is affected. Our new joint training pilots with the NHS will further help to schools to effectively support children and young people with mental health concerns.
The new PSHE lesson plans include teaching about self-harm and to help schools teach about mental health we have funded the PSHE Association to provide new mental health guidance and resources. This will help schools provide age appropriate teaching about mental health issues through the teaching of PSHE.
All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour. In 2015-16, the Government has provided £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.
Asked by: Iain Wright (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of (a) the adequacy of counselling services in schools for young people and (b) the effectiveness of curriculum content on emotional well-being and self-harm.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
We recognise that schools have a vital role to play in helping to promote good mental health for all their pupils as well as providing early support where mental health problems have been identified
Schools are best placed to decide what support and teaching they need to provide and we know that many schools provide their pupils with counselling. While we do not collect detailed central information on this provision, we have produced a blueprint for school counselling services which provides schools with practical, evidence-based advice informed by schools and counselling experts on how to deliver high quality school based counselling. More information can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools. However, teachers are not mental health professionals and it is important that students can get swift access to specialist mental health support where needed. An additional £1.25bn is available for mental health services for children, young people and new mothers over the next 5 years, to ensure timely access to appropriate specialist support is available.
In March 2015, we published a review of the research evidence for Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education teaching. This covers effective practice and teaching as well as the impact of PSHE teaching on pupil’s outcomes, including their emotional health and well-being and their academic attainment. This research is published online here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pshe-education-a-review-of-impact-and-effective-practice
We have already funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance to improve teaching about mental health in PSHE which was published in March 2015. This will be supplemented by detailed lesson plans for Key Stages 1-4. More information is available online here https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=1435