To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Economic evaluation of Place2Be's counselling service in primary schools by Pro Bono Economics and Place2Be published on 26 April; and what assessment they have made of increasing mental health counselling provision for primary school pupils and the potential long-term benefits for the economy of such an increase.
Answered on
15 May 2018
The department recognises the importance of school based counselling. The economic evaluation of Place2Be's counselling service in primary schools provides an assessment of the potential benefits of such provision.
Schools are best placed to make decisions on the most appropriate support for their pupils, and 61% of schools and colleges already provide counselling services. The government has published advice on delivering high quality school based counselling to all pupils. The advice for schools was developed in consultation with counselling experts, including Place2Be, and is attached.
The green paper, ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’, sets out proposals to provide significant further help to schools. These include the introduction of Mental Health Support Teams, which will increase the support available to pupils with emerging mental health problems. Additional funding will be provided for new professionals trained in evidence-based interventions, with supervision from expert clinicians. The teams will provide better routes into specialist NHS services for the pupils who need them. The green paper is attached.