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<p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England
only.</p><p>Protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right for all children.
The government’s priority for all vulnerable children is to keep them safe, protect
their welfare and put their best interests at the heart of every decision. It is about
supporting and intervening with the right families, at the right time, and, most importantly,
in the right way.</p><p>In the department’s 'Children in need’ statistics release,
we publish data on factors identified at the end of an assessment. Currently, verbal
abuse is not defined but would fall into emotional abuse. For that reason, the department
has not made a specific assessment of the impact of verbal abuse on children, but
it is the government’s priority to ensure all children are protected and safe from
harm, and we have an ambitious programme of reform to children’s social care underway.
The latest statistics release is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need"
target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need</a>.</p><p>On
2 February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, an implementation
strategy and consultation which sets out our plans to transform children’s social
care, in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, the national
review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the Competition
Markets Authority report.</p><p>The department’s strategy focuses on six pillars of
action to transform children’s social care, including to help families overcome challenges
at the earliest stage, keep children safe from significant harm, and make sure children
in care have stable, loving homes, long-term loving relationships, and opportunities
for a good life.</p><p>Over the next two years, the department will address urgent
issues and lay the foundations for wider-reaching reform across the whole system,
which will have an impact for those children experiencing abuse, including verbal
abuse.</p><p>Furthermore, the statutory guidance, ‘Working together to safeguard children’
(2018), is clear that, if at any time it is considered that a child may be a child
in need or has suffered significant harm or is likely to do so, a referral should
be made immediately to a local authority’s children social care service.</p><p>In
terms of supporting children’s mental health, the department has committed to offer
all state schools and colleges a grant to train a senior mental health lead by 2025,
enabling them to introduce effective, whole school approaches to mental health and
wellbeing. More than 14,000 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental
health lead training grant, including more than 7 in 10 state-funded secondary schools.</p><p>Intervening
early is critical. To expand access to early mental health support, the department
is continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to schools and colleges.
As of April 2023, MHSTs covered 35% of pupils in schools and learners in further education
in England. We are extending coverage of MHSTs to an estimated 44% of pupils and learners
by the end of this financial year and at least 50% by the end of March 2025.</p>
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