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<p>The most recent prevalence survey estimated that 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable
mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. This is why the Government
has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. The Department
of Health is commissioning a new prevalence survey to update this estimate for a wider
range of ages, from 2-19. It is due to report in 2018. We do not routinely collect
data that allows us to measure the amount schools spend specifically on addressing
mental health issues.</p><p>We are committed to better understanding what schools
are doing on this matter, which is why my department is commissioning an extensive
survey. This survey will provide a robust national picture of mental health support
provided by schools and colleges.</p><p>It is for head teachers to determine how they
spend their individual school budgets to best meet the needs of all their pupils.
In the Spending Review we announced that the core schools budget will be protected
in real terms through this Parliament. We are also protecting the Pupil Premium, which
many schools use to fund mental health provision, at current pupil rates. Within these
protections, we announced in December 2015 that an additional £92.5 million will specifically
be provided in the high needs element of the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) next year.</p><p>We
have also made £1.4 billion available over the next five years to transform local
children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and
accessible services. Clinical Commissioning Groups have been required to work with
others services locally, including schools, to produce plans that set out how they
will transform children and young people’s mental health services locally to make
them more accessible and increase the focus on prevention.</p><p>We are also contributing
to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact
in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young
people have timely access to specialist support where needed. There are 22 pilot areas
covering more than 200 schools across 27 CCGs.</p>
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