Q7. How do you think early years settings, schools, and college can best support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people?

The context: As part of developing the ‘areas of development’ which will define the Specialist Support Packages, the government intends to clarify how settings can effectively support social and emotional development and mental wellbeing for all children and young people. The ‘social, emotional and mental health’ (SEMH) SEND area will be renamed ‘social and emotional’. Schools will continue to have a role in promoting mental wellbeing, but health professionals will lead on clinical interventions for mental health difficulties for children with and without SEND. These clinical interventions can still be part of Specialist Provision Packages for children with SEND. The Government has also committed to publishing a Pupil Engagement Framework to help schools measure children’s engagement and wellbeing.

In your answer, you may want to consider:

• Care-experienced children are disproportionately likely to experience mental health difficulties. 90% of adoptees aged 16-25 have ever sought support for their mental health (Adoption Barometer 2025). Mental Health Leads in schools will need explicit training on the mental health needs of care-experienced children and young people, including guidance on when to refer to specialist services.
• You may wish to include examples of good or poor practice in supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools and other settings from your own experience.