Mental Health First Aid training for every secondary school by 2020
The government has pledged that every secondary school in the country will receive the training by 2020 and that this will be extended to primary schools by 2022.
The programme is delivered by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, a social enterprise organisation, and is backed by £200,000 in government funding.
Initially the Government had said that the funding would train 3,000 staff members over 3 years. However, they were forced to correct this announcement when it was pointed out that this would amount to just £67 per head. The training costs £117.25 to deliver.
In a later announcement, the government said that the funding would cover 1,000 staff members in the first year of the programme.
It has also been pointed out that there are over 3,400 secondary schools in England and that therefore the target of 3,000 trained staff would not cover every secondary school in England as promised.
Responding to the announcement, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:
“Teachers already provide outstanding pastoral care and support for their pupils, but many have said that they would appreciate more training on how to understand and respond to mental health issues.
“We know that identifying symptoms of mental illness early can help young people on the road to recovery. This training will mean more children receive the timely and sensitive support they need to stay well.”