Minister's view

Three children in every classroom are likely to experience a mental health issue. Making sure they have the support they need is a key priority for me as the first Department for Education minister to have a specific responsibility for mental health. It’s also a key priority for this Government, with a record £1.4 billion being invested in supporting children’s mental health this Parliament.

This money will transform the mental health support available to young people across the country. Work is also under way to make sure these services are more joined up with schools so pupils have better, faster access to the support they need. With NHS England we are trialling a £3 million scheme involving hundreds of schools to test having named, single points of contact in local mental health services so parents and teachers know where to turn for help.

Supporting our children’s mental health also means empowering them to deal with this issue. I have heard first-hand from young people just how keen they are to play a role in supporting each other. We are investing £1.5 million to develop support networks in secondary schools and online so young people can give each other that ‘peer-to-peer’ support.

A number of schools are already doing this, through informal buddying schemes all the way through to group sessions with trained support. At Sandon Academy in Essex, which I visited recently, pupils mentor each other on how to deal with things like stress or bereavement and wear badges so students know who they can turn to for help if they need it. This ‘ground-up’ approach empowers young people and helps take the stigma out of mental illness.

Mental health is also about making sure our children are happy and stress-free. That’s why we are committed to ensuring SATs are not a cause of stress for pupils – they are designed to help teachers make sure children are learning to read, write and add up well.

Parents also need to feel empowered to handle this issue. We have funded a website called ‘MindEd for Families’, which was developed by families for families and offers parenting advice on children’s mental health; we are supporting the YoungMinds parent’s helpline which offers free advice on children’s mental health; and our guide for parents, What to Expect, When?, includes advice on how children develop in the early years – including their emotional development.

As our professionals on the front line, you can help us support our young minds by using these resources and sharing them with parents so they know where to turn for help or advice. I am passionate about making sure children have the right support at the right time and as a Government we are determined to make sure this is the reality for all families.