Lord Chris Rennard, raises the issue of Mental Health in Schools.
Lord Chris Rennard, during a recent debate in the House of Lords, raised the issue of Mental Health in schools. It was in particular to do with the support for children and young people who have mental health issues.
It was during the questions on Health in that place. The question which started the debate, was raised by Labour's Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, who asked. "To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to bring forward proposals to reform Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services as outlined in their 2017 manifesto."
Here is the question from Lord Rennard, and the answer from Lord O'Shauhnessy, The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health
Lord Rennard Liberal Democrat
"The Government in Scotland are considering providing mental health counsellors in every secondary school. Does the Minister accept that all schools should have dedicated members of staff able to do more than just provide mental health first aid, and that there should be a trained mental health and well-being lead in every school, college and university?"
Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health
"That is what we are moving towards with the mental health first aid training for teachers in all schools. The noble Lord will recognise that schools come in all different shapes and sizes and that it is easier to do that initially in secondary schools, which are bigger than, for example, rural primary schools which might only have a staff of 10. It is critical to make sure that there is at least one member of staff who is highly trained in spotting and dealing with the initial signs of mental health problems and signposting them to the relevant authority-local health authority or whatever it is-for further care."