Place2Be attends mental health roundtable at Number 10 Downing Street

Place2Be’s Director for Mental Health Workforce Development, Sarah Houghton, has attended a roundtable meeting at Number 10 Downing Street.  

Yesterday, Place2Be’s Director for Mental Health Workforce Development, Sarah Houghton, attended a roundtable meeting at Number 10 Downing Street.  

The Government convened the roundtable to discuss children and young people’s mental health and what they should do to improve support and services over the next ten years.  

There were contributions from the Prime Minister, the Minister for Mental Health, the Children’s Commissioner for England, the NHS National Director for Mental Health, the University of Oxford, and Dr Alex George -the Government’s Youth Mental Health Ambassador.  

The group heard testimonies from young people about their experiences of mental health issues and the impact and importance of receiving the right support. Other children’s mental health charities and organisations also joined the session to share their insights and expertise.  

Topics covered in the discussion included:

• building resilience across the population
• preventing mental health issues from developing and escalating
• community early support hubs
• the importance of school-based support and wellbeing as a part of education.   

Sarah stressed the importance of prioritising wellbeing in schools and education and being able to provide support at an early stage. Place2Be believes mental health support should be available and accessible in every school. One way to increase support could be by allocating mental health and wellbeing funding and long-term investment to schools. 

This meeting was part of the wider Government consultation about the next ten years of mental health. You can respond to the consultation and find out more on the Government’s website.