New Mental Health Support Teams in Morecambe, Furness and Blackburn with Darwen

The MHSTs will be working within a range of education settings as part of the initial pilot, offering early intervention for some mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing issues, such as anxiety. In addition, the teams will be working with staff in the development and delivery of a ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing and will act as that valuable link with local children and young people’s mental health services.

Since the announcement that funding had been secured for these areas earlier in 2019, work has begun in earnest to recruit to the full range of posts needed and training for the Education Mental Health Practitioners will begin early in the New Year.

Currently, a number of engagement events are in progress with the education settings within the pilot areas with the support of colleagues within NHS England and the Department for Education.

One in eight young people aged 5 to 19 had a mental health condition in 2017 and emotional disorders have become more common in 5 to 15 year olds going from 3.9% in 2004 to 5.8% in 2017. The Government’s stance, as outlined within the Green Paper, is that MHSTs will be a key support to schools and colleges in response to this issue and NHS England’s ambition is to establish MHST trailblazer sites in between one-fifth and one quarter of the country by 2023 to 2024.