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Ministers have acknowledged that only a third of children have access to mental health support at school.
The shortfall continues even as the number of students with mental health issues has increased and they continue to miss the classroom since the pandemic.
In a parliamentary written reply to Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson, Education Secretary David Johnston said that as of 31 March 2023, 35 per cent of pupils in schools and higher education colleges in England It has been made clear that a Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is available. .
He said the government had pledged to increase this to 44% this year and to at least 50% by the end of March 2025.
Official NHS data shows one in five children aged eight to 16 may have a mental health condition, up from one in nine in 2017.
And last year’s Savanta poll found that lack of support for the issue was a major barrier to enrollment. About 58 percent of children waiting for help missed school for more than two weeks, 42 percent missed more than one month of school, and 20 percent missed more than six months of school. .
Mr Johnston said in a written response: “An early assessment of the Child and Youth Mental Health Pioneer Program released by the National Institutes of Health in February 2023 found significant progress in implementing MHST despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. 19 pandemic.
“While this was a process evaluation, initial impacts include increased knowledge and confidence of school and college staff in dealing with mental health issues, improved access to support for some groups and improved partnership working. This includes improvements such as:
“The study also found that the experiences of the majority of children and young people who came into contact with MHST were positive.
“Work is already underway with our partners to ensure we use what we learn to inform current and future practice.”
“The Department continues to work with partners to listen to feedback and the planned Phase 2 long-term outcome evaluation to inform the rollout of the MHST and ensure evidence-based mental health and We will continue to drive improvements in support for emotional well-being.”
The Liberal Democrats said the government needed to accelerate its application in schools because of the growing number of young people with mental health conditions.
The party will commit to having a full-time mental health professional in every school as part of its general election manifesto. The policy will be discussed at the party’s spring conference in York this weekend.
Mr Wilson said: “This Conservative government is turning a blind eye to the deteriorating mental health of young people across the country.
“It is impossible for this government to implement any meaningful strategy to tackle chronic absenteeism without recognizing the serious impact this has on children’s lives.”