With children and young people due to go back to school from next week (8 March), the government has announced a £79 million boost to mental health support.
This means that nearly three million children in England will have mental health support teams available.
Today (Friday 5 March) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, explained in a briefing: "Being unable to meet up with friends, being stuck at home - I know just how much people are looking forward to going back to school."
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He added that the return to school has been 'long-awaited', but for some it's a 'moment for unease and anxiety', explaining that to get life going again, children must be given 'the support they need'.
He went on to say: "I'm delighted to be able to announce we'll be allocating an extra £79 million to boost mental health support."
Young people have been uniquely impacted by the pandemic and lockdown, with NHS research suggesting 1 in 6 may now have a mental health problem, up from 1 in 9 in 2017.
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The number of mental health support teams in schools and colleges will grow from 59 to 400 by April 2023, supporting nearly 3 million children.
Mental health support teams will work in a variety of ways, including enabling children to text their local mental health support team, with a health professional responding within an hour during the school day offering them advice, or providing families with tips on how to spot that the children and young people are struggling with their mental health.
The teams also help staff within schools and colleges to provide a 'whole school approach' to mental health and wellbeing through training sessions for parents or workshops for teachers.
Schools have hailed their success in supporting both students and staff. In Kent, teams have provided 20-minute telephone counselling sessions for parents struggling with the competing demands of life under lockdown, alongside virtual drop-in sessions for school staff on how to support children with their mental health.
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Access to community mental health services will also be expanded, giving 22,500 more children and young people access to help and support by 2021 to 2022 - including talking therapies and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Topics: UK News, News, Coronavirus, Politics
