Mental Health Support Secondary Schools 2024-01-29
2024-01-29
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Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The availability of mental health support in secondary schools is being questioned.
What steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of mental health support in secondary schools?
We are rolling out mental health support teams to schools and colleges, supporting young people to access early intervention for mental health. As of March 2023 there were 398 teams covering 47% of secondary school pupils. That will increase to around 600 teams by spring 2025.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner notes the removal of school counsellors and requests a commitment to reintroduce them.
When I was a young person, we had a counsellor in our school. It helped many people, not for the long term but through short-term interventions that put people on the right track and meant that they did not need more expensive interventions down the line. Unfortunately, those counsellors have gone in many schools. Labour will reintroduce them. Will the Minister commit to reintroducing a counsellor in every school to ensure that we spend now to save later?
Counsellors have a role, but we believe that a combination of rolling out mental health support teams and giving every state school and college in the country a grant to train a senior mental health lead is a better approach to take.
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Assessment & feedback
Commitment to reintroduce counsellors in schools
We Believe That A Combination Of Rolling Out Mental Health Support Teams And Giving Every State School And College In The Country A Grant To Train A Senior Mental Health Lead Is A Better Approach To Take
Response accuracy