Sheffield MP slams 'pitiful' 72p-per-pupil mental health support

A Sheffield MP has hit out at the government over what she calls "pitiful" new mental health funding of just 72p per child in the city.

Schools are getting grants from the Wellbeing for Education Recovery fund to cope with the growing strain on staff and pupils caused by the pandemic.

Sheffield has been awarded £53,107 for the 2021/2022 year, down from £61,556 the year before, an average of around 72p per pupil.

The amount of funding in other areas in the UK varies considerably.

In Oxfordshire the new support equates to around £1.18 per pupil, but in Herfordshire it equates to around 15.7p per pupil.

How much does my local council get in extra mental health funding?

  • Bradford - 62p per pupil

  • Leeds - 66p per pupil

  • Hull - 73p per pupil

  • Kirklees - 80p per pupil

  • Barnsley 81p per pupil

  • Rotherham - 81p per pupil

  • Doncaster - 82p per pupil

  • Nottinghamshire - 83p per pupil

  • Calderdale 84p per pupil

  • York - 91p per pupil

  • East Riding of Yorkshire - 97p per pupil

  • North East Lincolnshire - 98p per pupil

  • North Lincolnshire - £1.01 per pupil

  • Lincolnshire - £1.01 per pupil

  • Derbyshire - £1.13 per pupil

  • North Yorkshire - £1.31 per pupil

Source: gov.uk

MP for Sheffield Heeley, Louise Haigh, said: "This pitiful sum is a drop in the ocean and shows just how little value has been placed on children’s recovery from the pandemic.

"Schools are essential support for children, but they are being denied the help they need to tackle this mental health crisis head on.

"This Government’s meagre plan risks failing a generation of schoolchildren, and it’s the most vulnerable in communities nationwide who will pay the price." 

More than 190,000 patients under the age of 18 were referred to children and young people's mental health services between April and June this year - up 134% on the same period last year, according to analysis of official figures by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Louise Haigh says the extra support for schools is a "drop in the ocean" Credit: PA

A Government spokesperson said: "We have made unprecedented investment in mental health services, both through the NHS and via the tailored support available in schools and colleges.

"This includes programmes responding to the emotional impact of the pandemic on young people, funding to train senior mental health leads in every school and college, and our ambitious education recovery plan which can also be spent on supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.

"We are also speeding up and expanding the roll-out of mental health support teams in schools, giving nearly three million children in England access to health experts through school or college by April 2023."