Mental health to be key focus of education recovery, government panel confirms
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, July 15, 2021
A coalition of health and education experts have committed to making mental health a key part of education recovery plans following the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the first meeting of the government’s Mental Health in Education Action Group, chaired by universities minister Michelle Donelan and children and families minister Vicky Ford, it reiterated plans for the Department for Education's £7m Wellbeing for Education Recovery programme, to facilitate training and resources for staff in schools and colleges.
The programme will see resources for all mental health delivery programmes made available via a portal on the government website.
It will also create a series of free wellbeing support videos, co-created by First News, Sky Kids, the Department for Education, Public Health England and Dr Alex George, the government’s youth mental health ambassador who is part of the group.
The videos will offer tips and tricks to improve children’s mood and will air on Sky Kids and Now TV throughout the summer.
The group has vowed all videos will be made available to summer schools and holiday, activity and food clubs.
The action group has also committed to longer-term support for the sector by continuing to signpost training opportunities, resources and investment in mental health and wellbeing for staff and settings across the education sector from early years through to higher education.
This includes senior mental health lead training, boosted by an extra £9.5m for schools and colleges to use from September.
The funding will be used to create more mental health support teams to help nearly three million children by 2023.
Ford said: “The mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people must remain a priority as we move forward into a new academic year, so that children can get on with their lives and their education in the best possible way.
“I’m proud of the progress our Mental Health in Education Action Group has made these past months in making sure education settings can access the significant support and investment we have provided for wellbeing. I want to encourage all school leaders to explore what’s available to them and their pupils over the summer and into next term.”
