We were delighted to see Baroness Tyler once again calling for counselling in schools through a House of Lords oral question.
The Baroness asked, "To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the links between rising levels of mental health issues among school age children and poor school attendance; and what steps they are planning to take to address the situation."
This follows Baroness Tyler's Schools (Mental Health Professionals) Private Members Bill.
The NCPS has been working closely with Baroness Tyler to support her Private Members Bill, with our research on Referral Patterns of Mental Health Support Teams in Education being a key in informing that work.
Our concerns remain around the lack of detail provided by the Government around their proposals (most notably, their continuing reference to 'Mental Health Professionals' with no indication of what roles that title encompasses), but we will continue to engage with them on this to make sure that counselling / psychotherapy is represented and that any solution proposed includes qualified counsellors & psychotherapists.
