Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of schools employ a mental health specialist as a permanent member of staff.

Mr Sam Gyimah

This is a matter for schools to decide. We have recently commissioned an extensive survey which will provide nationally representative estimates of what provision schools and colleges offer for mental health and character education. The fieldwork will begin in the summer term.

We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed.