Mental health support in schools and colleges

In 2017, the Government published its Green Paper for Transforming children and young people’s mental health.

This detailed proposals for expanding access to mental health care for children and young people, building on the national NHS transformation programme which was already underway.

One of the programme’s main commitments is establishing Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), jointly delivered with the Department for Education.

You can find out more on the NHS England website.

Mental Health Support Teams provide direct mental health support to education settings they work with. The teams aim to promote the early detection and prevention of mental health problems across the whole school/college and strengthen links between schools/colleges and mental health services.

The teams provide direct, ongoing support around mental health and wellbeing. This includes:

  • Providing direct interventions to pupils with mild to moderate mental health conditions, such as anxiety, low mood or behavioural difficulties.
  • Where young people require specialist support, making onward referrals to health and wellbeing services for children and young people.
  • Providing training, education and advice to school staff to help them better support their pupils around mental and emotional wellbeing.
  • Championing mental wellbeing and resilience across the whole school community, providing guidance around issues such as bullying and coping with exam stress.
  • The service sits alongside and complements any existing mental health support that schools have access to.

EMHPs represent the majority of the MHST workforce. Under supervision, EMHPs deliver and assess outcome focused, evidence-based interventions to children and young people with mild-to-moderate mental health problems, and their families, parents and carers.

They support the senior mental health lead to introduce or develop their whole school/college approach and give timely advice to education setting staff, and liaise with external specialists, to help children and young people stay in education.

They also liaise with supervisors to agree appropriate signposting and referrals for children and young people. EMHPs will play an important role in supporting and working with education to identify and manage issues related to mental health, and work with them to improve access to mental health services.

EMHPs undertake training, including casework within some schools as part of a training year, before becoming fully operation the following year.


Find out more about the mental health support teams in your area below

Shine MHST.png

For more information visit the Fylde Coast MHST website.

Number of MHSTs:

  • Three

Covering selected secondary schools, special schools, appropriate provision settings, sixth forms and colleges in:

  • Blackpool
  • Wyre
  • Fylde (introduced in January 2023)

Team name developed by children locally:

  • SHINE

Provided by:

  • Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

EL MHST.png

For more information visit the ELCAS website.

Number of MHSTs:

  • Four 

Covering selected primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and colleges in:

  • Burnley
  • Pendle
  • Hyndburn
  • Rossendale
  • Ribble Valley

Known locally as:

  • East Lancs Mental Health Support Team 

Provided by:

  • ELCAS, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Compass BLOOM Central and West Lancashire Mental Health Support Teams logo_with strapline_CMYK.jpg

For more information visit the Compass Bloom website

Number of MHSTs:

  • Three

Covering selected secondary schools, special schools, pupil referral units and colleges in:

  • Chorley and South Ribble
  • Greater Preston

Known locally as:

  • Compass Bloom

Provided by:

  • Compass

Moving Mindsets.png

For more information visit the Moving Mindsets website.

Number of MHSTs:

  • Three

Covering selected primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, pupil referral units and colleges in:

  • Barrow Peninsula
  • Morecambe and Heysham
  • South Lakes
  • Lancaster

Team name developed by children locally:

  • Moving Mindsets

Provided by:

  • Barnardo’s

EL MHST.png

For more information visit the ELCAS website.

Number of MHSTs:

  • Four 

Covering all primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units in:

  • Blackburn with Darwen

Known locally as:

  • Blackburn with Darwen Mental Health Support Team 

Provided by:

  • ELCAS, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Compass BLOOM Central and West Lancashire Mental Health Support Teams logo_with strapline_CMYK.jpg

For more information visit the Compass Bloom website

Number of MHSTs:

  • One

Covering selected primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and colleges in:

  • West Lancashire

Known locally as:

  • Compass Bloom

Provided by:

  • Compass

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