Carnegie School of Education to lead on school and college mental health training provision

The Department for Education funded programme will help schools and colleges across England identify and access training for senior mental health leads who will go on to create and foster a holistic approach to improving pupil and student’s mental wellbeing, engaging the whole school community, including teachers, support staff, parents, carers and pupils, and local children and young people’s mental health services. 

The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools, based within the Carnegie School of Education in partnership with Minds Ahead CIC, will develop robust quality assurance criteria for training providers who apply to deliver the course. 

This new training and development provision will be available initially to around a third of schools and colleges in England by March 2022, as part of an expected rollout to all schools and colleges by 2025.

Carnegie School of Education’s Dean, Professor Damien Page said: “The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools has worked with more than 1,000 school leaders on its School Mental Health Award, Leadership Programmes, workshops, masterclasses and the first of its kind Masters in Leadership of School Mental Health and Wellbeing.

“The investment from the Department of Education will support senior leaders in schools and colleges to deepen their knowledge and develop a whole school approach to mental health. We are committed to supporting this initiative by ensuring there is a robust, research informed portfolio of training opportunities available for schools and colleges.”

The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools was established in 2017 to help strengthen the mental health of the next generation by supporting schools to make a positive change at all levels of the UK’s education system. 

Key to the centre’s work is its School Mental Health Quality Mark, which allows assessment and evaluation of mental health strategies and provisions. 

An online community function has also been recently launched by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools, with designated mental health leads now able to find peer support, discuss ideas and share best practice. 

Minds Ahead Chief Executive Dean Johnstone said: “Since 2017, the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools has delivered a development programme to over 530 Mental Health Leads in Schools and Colleges. 

“We will use our deep experience and extensive understanding of the issues faced by mental health leads in schools and colleges to support the Department for Education achieve the key policy of ensuring that all settings have a well-trained mental health lead, so that it benefits the whole education community.”