The Department of Education have announced that a further £7m will be invested into training Senior Mental Health Leads for thousands of schools and colleges across the country.
The grant is on top of the £3m pre-commitment announced in February and increases the total funding for 2022/23 to £10m.
This all comes in the middle of Mental Health Awareness Week, as the Government continue to level up their mental health services and provide additional support for young people adversely affected by the pandemic.
The Government’s green paper pledged to offer training to all eligible school practices, with over 8,000 schools having already claimed a £1,200 grant to train a Senior Mental Health Lead between October 2021 and March 2022.
Children and Families Minister, Will Quince, said: “It is vital that we continue to support the wellbeing and mental health of young people alongside their academic recovery, and senior mental health leads will play an important role in doing this. I am grateful to those who have signed up for training so far, as well as all education staff who actively support their pupils’ wellbeing.
“I am continuing to work across government to ensure we meet the commitments set out in our mental health green paper. This includes rolling out mental health support teams so that millions of children across England can access the support they need.”
The Government has also announced today that funding for five leading charities aiming to tackle bullying. After an initial successful six months the following organisations will receive an additional £1m to continue their endeavours stopping bullying and championing respect:
- National Children’s Bureau (Anti-Bullying Alliance)
- Diversity Role Models
- Equaliteach
- Anne Frank Trust
- The Diana Award
The grant will be primarily aimed at children who receive hate-related bullying or identify as LGBT.
The Department of Health and Social Care also recently announced a call to evidence looking to inform the Government about the difficulties of living with mental health issues, ultimately aiming to substantially improve the nation’s mental health a decade from now.
Minister for Mental Health Gillian Keegan, said: “The last two years have been particularly challenging and although children are incredibly resilient, it’s crucial they can access mental health support as early as possible.
“We’re making great progress on better supporting young people’s mental health and this additional funding to train senior mental health leads will complement our work on the accelerated rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and expansion of community services which is well underway.
“We have recently opened a call for evidence and I encourage people of all ages to share their views to inform a new 10-year mental health plan to keep the nation in positive mental wellbeing.”
More information about the mental health funding can be found here.
