{"id":60822,"date":"2015-08-29T23:15:15","date_gmt":"2015-08-29T23:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=55bf2b9854940f00e1fbb6627508f0df"},"modified":"2015-08-29T23:15:15","modified_gmt":"2015-08-29T23:15:15","slug":"press-release-first-ever-mental-health-champion-for-schools-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=60822","title":{"rendered":"Press release: First ever mental health champion for schools unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A leading campaigner has been named as the Department for Education\u2019s first ever mental health champion for schools – helping to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around young people\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n

Natasha Devon MBE<\/abbr> – who works as a television pundit and writer – was chosen for the role following her extensive work with young people, which includes launching 2 organisations which give young people practical tips on dealing with mental health and body image concerns.<\/p>\n

As founder of the Self-Esteem Team and the Body Gossip Education Programme, Natasha has delivered classes to more than 50,000 teenagers, as well as their parents and teachers.<\/p>\n

The move comes as part of a wider government commitment to improve children and young people\u2019s mental health – including the way these services work with schools – with \u00a31.25 billion to be invested specifically in young people\u2019s mental health over the next 5 years. This money will transform local services so that every organisation involved with caring for children and young people works together to support them with their mental health, not just the NHS<\/abbr>. <\/p>\n

Alongside this, the Department of Health, working with NHS<\/abbr> England, is investing \u00a3150million over this Parliament to improve eating disorder services, backed up by a new standard so that young people who need help can be seen within 4 weeks or 1 week for urgent cases by 2020. The very worst emergency cases should find support within 24 hours. The funding will be used to improve community based services so patients are helped earlier and fewer need in-patient care.<\/p>\n

Having suffered from an eating disorder herself, Natasha Devon will use her personal experiences to champion young people\u2019s mental health as widely as possible, and encourage more children to talk about the issues they are dealing with.<\/p>\n

Education and Childcare Minister, Sam Gyimah, said:<\/p>\n

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Ensuring young people have access to good mental health support is vital. That is why we are promoting greater use of counselling in schools, improving teaching about mental health, and supporting joint working between mental health services and schools.<\/p>\n

But we know there is more we can do. Natasha is an inspiration to many young people and I\u2019m delighted to have her on board as our first mental health champion.<\/p>\n

I know that together we can make a real difference in encouraging more young people to talk openly about mental health.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Writer and campaigner Natasha Devon, said:<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m so excited by this opportunity to improve the lives of even more young people. At present, 3 children per average classroom has a diagnosable mental health problem, with many more struggling with undiagnosed conditions such as anxiety.<\/p>\n

This has a tangible impact not only on their happiness, but also on their potential. It\u2019s therefore vital that we can improve the support available for children and teens.<\/p>\n

This is a cause that\u2019s very close to my heart, and I know from personal experience, as well as from the young people I have met, how crucial this work is. I\u2019m looking forward to getting started and making a difference.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Health Minister, Alistair Burt, who is responsible for mental health, said:<\/p>\n

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Mental health is a priority for this government and I\u2019m proud that we are investing \u00a31.25 billion in services for children and young people over the next 5 years, as well as introducing treatment targets for the first time so they get the help they need when they need it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m delighted to support Minister Gyimah and the Department for Education in this fantastic initiative, which will help tackle stigma and help improve the mental health of every child and young person in this country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Over the coming weeks and months, Natasha will work closely with the Education and Childcare Minister to help de-stigmatise young people\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n

This comes as the Department for Education has contributed \u00a31.5 million to a joint pilot with NHS<\/abbr> England, to improve joint working between mental health services and schools. The department is also providing nearly \u00a35m of additional funding for charities supporting mental health.<\/p>\n

Notes to editors<\/h2>\n
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  1. Sam Gyimah is the first minister in DfE<\/abbr> to have specific responsibility for mental health in his portfolio and he is working closely with Alistair Burt. Officials from the Department of Education and Department of Health are working together on a programme of work.<\/li>\n
  2. To improve help teaching about mental health we funded the PSHE<\/abbr> Association guidance on teaching about mental health in PSHE<\/abbr><\/a> which was published in March 2015. This will be followed by a set of lesson plans spanning key stages 1 to 4 which will be available for schools before the end of the summer term.<\/li>\n
  3. In March we published a blueprint for school counselling services<\/a> which provides schools with practical, evidence-based advice informed by schools and counselling experts on how to deliver high quality school based counselling.<\/li>\n
  4. Last year we also published advice and guidance on mental health and behaviour<\/a>, to help schools support young people with mental health needs, including making referrals to a specialist service if necessary.<\/li>\n
  5. All clinical commissioning groups (CCGs<\/abbr>) have been asked to work with their partners to develop plans to transform their local offer (local transformation plans) to improve children and young people\u2019s mental health and wellbeing. These local transformation plans, alongside existing investment, should include the full spectrum of interventions: from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, such as those with learning disabilities. Guidance for these plans were published in early August and CCGs<\/abbr> have been told how much they will receive, dependent on their submissions of robust plans. These plans will be assured in October and funding released shortly after.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n
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    \nDfE<\/abbr> enquiries<\/h3>\n
    \n
    \n

    \n Central newsdesk<\/span>
    \n 020 7783 8300\n <\/p>\n

    \n General enquiries<\/span>
    \n 0370 000 2288\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Leading campaigner Natasha Devon becomes first ever Department for Education mental health champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60822\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}