Recommendation 41

HM Government · verbatim extract Not Addressed

UNDER REVIEW Around six in ten pupils and learners in FE will have access to a mental health support team (MHST) by March 2026, and the government has committed to full coverage by 2029–30. This commitment was re-affirmed in the 10 Year Health Plan in July 2025. DHSC/NHS England and DfE will continue to monitor expansion rates and support Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to deliver this ambitious manifesto commitment. Decisions are taken locally by ICB’s over which settings are prioritised during service expansion. Rollout trajectories for different types of settings will be determined by local needs, and the pace of implementation will depend on the recruitment and training of a suitable workforce. The expansion of MHST’s cannot be further accelerated. A key advantage of MHSTs is that we are building a new workforce of Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) through annual training cohorts, rather than drawing staff from the existing Children and Young People’s Mental Health workforce. However, to do this well takes time. EMHP’s must complete a year-long training course to qualify, gaining a postgraduate or graduate diploma. The DfE already publishes the number and proportion of schools and post-16 settings supported by an MHSTs annually. An interim independent evaluation of the first 58 MHST sites was published in 2021. The overall assessment of MHSTs was positive, finding ‘substantial progress in the implementation of the programme and optimism of what it could achieve’. In June 2023, a 36-month mixed-method evaluation began into the efficacy of MHSTs. The evaluation will report its findings in full in 2026. This summary covers the initial findings.