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Longfield think-tank calls for expansion of school mental health support teams

2 mins read Health Education Children's Services
Former children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield has called for an expansion of mental health support offered in schools as data shows 1.4mn children in England now have a probable mental health condition.
Anne Longfield: 'schools have a crucial role to play in supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing'. Picture: Centre for Young Lives
Anne Longfield: 'schools have a crucial role to play in supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing'. Picture: Centre for Young Lives

Longfield has set out an evidence-based plan to improve the wellbeing of children which includes expanding government-funded mental health support offered through schools and educational settings, starting in the primary school years, to all schools.

“Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are known to provide effective help to schools, but most schools still do not have access to them,” a new report by Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives and Child of the North finds.

“The government’s current plans mean that from 2025 half of England’s eight million school age children will still not have access to a MHST in their school, should they need it. The work of MHSTs should be widened so it is not just focused on only one-to-one support for children with moderate-to-severe mental health problems, but is also focussed on peer group support and school-wide prevention strategies, including mental health hubs,” it adds.

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