FOI - Mental Health in Schools [Feb 2023]

I would like to put in an FOI request with relation to the following questions:

1. What funding is Greater London Authority designating towards the wellbeing of teachers and schooling staff in your local area?
2. If possible, could you please send me a relevant name/email/contact number of someone in charge of mental health within schools in your local area?
3. What funding is being designated to schools, specifically for student wellbeing in your local area?
4. What is the number of schools/teachers that Greater London Authority provides funding for? 

Response

Please note that the GLA is London's strategic government and does not operate in the same way as local Borough Councils. We can therefore not respond to your request in format you have requested. If you require further information you would need to contact the individual local Borough Councils: https://directory.londoncouncils.gov.uk/

I can inform you that our young ambassadors programme and My London supports young Londoners with their mental health and wellbeing (Team London Young Ambassadors | London City Hall) and we have reached 2,200 schools since the start of the programme. Big Ideas are our delivery partner delivering cpd to teachers - Big Ideas | Big Ideas delivers community and education projects locally, nationally and globally. Change the way you see the world with Big Ideas. (big-ideas.org)

Our current ESF projects which work with school-age children are:

• Continuing Participation

• Gangs Prevention

• SEND NEET (including a project focused on supporting young people facing Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) issues). The values and aims of these projects are provided on our web pages here.

These projects are not specifically focused on student wellbeing. Their aim is to provide tailored support to help pupils and students aged 16-24 who are NEET or at risk of dropping out of school or college to stay in education/training and/or move onto an alternative destination (e.g. apprenticeships, college, employment etc.).

In the 2022/23 financial year the GLA is contributing £65,000 to children and young people’s mental health programmes that support both students and staff, delivered through Thrive LDN. This funding covers:

• Delivery of London’s young Londoner-led Youth Mental Health Day festival

• Work with London’s Violence Reduction Unit to scope out a bereavement support offer for young Londoners bereaved through violent crime

• Review the Healthy Early Years Award scheme mental health content and if required suggest amends and alignment to OFSTED framework where appropriate.

• Support for schools to apply for Senior Mental Health Lead Training

The above is in addition to previously funded work to support wellbeing of both students and staff, including the £1.5 million Mayoral funded rollout of Youth Mental Health First Aid to over 4,000 education and youth sector staff between 2018 – 2022.

You can find the details of this funding here: MD3026 Mental Health Recovery Mission and Thrive LDN work programme If you have any further quest