DfE has pledged to expand Mental Health Support Teams to reach 900,000 more pupils by March 2026. NCB has welcomed the move, outlining where further work is needed.
The announcement is part of measures designed to fulfil Labour’s manifesto commitment for all pupils to have access to support.
Furthermore, innovative new networks of schools will be set up to tackle poor behaviour and attendance – with intensive support provided to the 500 poorest performing schools.
Find out more on the DfE website.
In response, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and Schools Wellbeing Partnership, both parts of the NCB family, have welcomed the announcement but urged the Govt. to go further:
Schools Wellbeing Partnership
The Schools Wellbeing Partnership welcomes the commitment from the Department for Education to continue the expansion of mental health support teams, which will mean almost a million pupils, teachers and communities will be better supported. This is a promising sign that the Government is taking its manifesto promise of better access to mental health support seriously.
However, our children and young people need environments and relationships that are welcoming, that make them feel they belong, that offer a supportive space to learn and thrive - these are the conditions that will support attendance and behaviour, learning and thriving.
Gail Precious, Programme Lead at the Partnership said:
“We want to see this commitment supported by further guarantees that a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing should be essential for all settings, so that the entire school community - including teachers, staff, parents and carers - benefit from a compassionate and inclusive approach.”
The Partnership believes that current guidance on whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing should be statutory, and are pleased to see a related amendment on this topic has been tabled in the House of Lords, as the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill passes through Parliament.
Anti-Bullying Alliance
The Anti-Bullying Alliance called for urgent action on bullying amid the new government mental health plans, saying:
We welcome the expansion of mental health support teams in schools and the focus on improving attendance and behaviour. Peer-to-peer support and early intervention are vital, and we know that children need to feel safe, supported and that they belong in order to thrive in education.
But to truly tackle the root causes of poor mental health, and absence in schools, we must go further. One of the biggest and most overlooked causes is bullying. A staggering one in four children experience bullying, and its impact is profound: children who are bullied are significantly more likely to miss school, feel excluded from their school community, and face disciplinary measures. The effects don’t stop at the school gates. Bullying is a major contributor to poor mental health, and many children go on to experience long-term consequences in adulthood, including mental health issues, being not in education, employment or training (NEET), and difficulties in forming stable relationships.
We are particularly concerned that bullying disproportionately affects children from vulnerable groups, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those living in poverty and children with care experience.
Currently, there are no national requirements for schools in England to provide anti-bullying training to staff, no requirement to record levels of bullying, and no sustained government support for whole-school anti-bullying programmes – Previous governments have provided anti-bullying programmes for much of the last 25 years but these came to an end during the last government and have not currently been reinstated.
Martha Evans, Director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said:
"This announcement is a welcome step, but we urge the government to get tougher on the causes of poor mental health and school absence. One of the biggest and most damaging types of behaviour is bullying. Bullying is a major driver of these issues and yet schools are left without the tools, training or resources they need to prevent it. If we are serious about improving mental health and attendance, we must ensure every school in England is equipped to create safe, inclusive environments where all children belong and can thrive.
ABA is calling on the government to act now by:
- Providing anti-bullying training and whole-school anti-bullying programmes.
- Making bullying data collection mandatory.
- Ensuring that every member of school staff understands what bullying is and how to prevent it.
Only by delivering these measures can we truly address the causes of poor mental health, exclusion and attendance in our schools.