One of the final acts that Theresa May performed as Prime Minister was to announce an initiative to train all new teachers to spot the signs of mental health issues in pupils.
Improving mental health support in schools has been a key feature of government policy since the publication in late 2017 of Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health Provision: A Green Paper.
The paper set out a number of measures to identify mental health problems in children earlier. This included the creation of new support teams to link schools with specialist services, the appointment of a senior school leader to co-ordinate support in settings and quicker access to treatment in the community.
The package of measures built on existing plans to roll out mental health first aid training to all teachers by next year, and to ensure the proportion of the NHS budget spent on children's mental health increased.
Despite the extra investment and focus by policymakers, experts have raised concerns that the green paper is not ambitious enough and could be undermined by the funding cuts to pastoral support in schools.
As research suggests children's mental health needs are growing, schools, voluntary organisations and councils are working together to develop new ways of supporting pupils, both through the curriculum and more targeted therapeutic interventions.
CYP Now's special report on mental health in schools summarises latest policy and research in the area and outlines how four innovative projects are supporting pupils' mental health needs.
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