Moorlands MP, Karen Bradley has welcomed the announcement by the Health Secretary and the Education Secretary of 25 trailblazer areas across England to benefit from transformed mental health care for half a million children.
North Staffordshire CCG and Stoke on Trent CCG have been selected as part of the 25 trailblazer areas with 2 Mental Health Support Teams each. The scheme will be delivered by North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust in partnership with commissioners and local government.
The New Mental Health Support Teams will support more than 470,000 children and young people in and near schools and colleges from 2019. Each designated team will provide expert mental health support to clusters of around 20 schools and colleges each, supporting up to 8,000 children and young people.
The Department for Education will also fund training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges – working to ensure a ‘whole school’ approach to mental health and wellbeing.
Karen said,
“This is really good news for Staffordshire Moorlands. We want to make sure that our children are able to grow up to become happy and well-rounded individuals well set to deal with the challenges of the modern world. Early intervention is crucial when it comes to mental illness and we are ensuring young people can immediately access support when the signs of mental health first appear so that these problems don’t escalate into adulthood.”