Question reference: S6W-05453
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 5 January 2022
-
Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 January 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the reported anxiety felt by school pupils on the need to catch-up on missed schooling.
Answer
The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.
Education authorities and schools have a wide range of approaches in place to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
Our refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge, backed by record investment of £1bn in this Parliament, empowers schools and local authorities to drive education recovery and accelerate progress in tackling the poverty-related attainment gap.
We continue to support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services.
The Mental Health in Schools Working Group, established in 2019, has overseen the development of a professional learning resource for school staff, published in June, and guidance to support whole school approaches to mental health, published in August. These resources help school staff respond to the range of mental health and wellbeing concerns that young people may experience.
The Scottish Government also published the Mind yer time and Aye Feel resources which provide sources of support and information for children and young people.