The new investment will support the implementation of the Welsh Government’s response to the recommendations made by the National Assembly’s Children, Young People and Education Committee in its Mind over Matter report last year.
The funding will build on previous investments to improve child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and will also support the whole-school approach to improve mental health and wellbeing in schools.
The Minister will make the announcement during a conference in Cardiff today, which will bring together Wales’ directors of education to discuss ‘Developing a partnership Approach for Mental health and Wellbeing’.
Health Minister, Vaughan Gething said:
“Improving mental health for everyone is a top priority for me as Health Minister and for the Welsh Government.
“In Wales, we’ve taken action to put services in place to help children and young people deal with the pressures of everyday life. In recent years we have been able to provide additional funding to expand the numbers of specialist staff and develop new services.
“The extra funding I’m announcing today is a significant and meaningful investment to help us do more to protect, improve and support the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people by further developing these services.”
The £7.1m investment is in addition to £1.4m being invested by the Welsh Government in a programme of mental health in-reach support for schools to strengthen the support from CAMHS in schools in four pilot areas across Wales.
Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, said:
“The mental health and wellbeing of our children & young people is an absolute priority, and our ‘whole school’ approach ensures this is central to the way schools work and touch on all the different aspects of school life.
“This funding will help build on the dedicated, professional support we provide to schools, including through our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), to ensure our pupils are fully supported through each stage of their education.”
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