More than a million children given access to NHS mental health support at school

More than a million children and young people will have access to mental health support at school, as the NHS rapidly expands services to help deal with the huge disruption caused by coronavirus and lockdown.

From this year, teams of experts are offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression, and other common mental health issues.

Around 400 mental health support teams will be up and running covering 3,000 schools in England, offering support to almost three million pupils, by 2023.

The roll-out represents a dramatic acceleration of the programme announced in the NHS Long Term Plan, funded from £79 million to boost mental health support for children and young people in England, which is part of £500 million Government pot for investment in mental health services.

Experts hope that by intervening early they can prevent problems escalating into serious mental health issues, with health chiefs warning that the isolation and upheaval of the pandemic can be compounded by factors like pressure experienced on social media platforms.

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Source: NHS England, 8 May 2021