Thousands Of Children And Young People Will Benefit From Expanded Mental Health Hubs In England
2nd March 2024
Thousands of children and young people will benefit from expanded mental health hubs as the government will offer more funding for local communities.
Extra funding for early support hubs to help children and young people receive better mental health support across the country
24 hubs will receive a share of almost £8 million.
It will help young people get support with their mental health at an earlier stage.
Services include psychological therapies, specialist advice and wider issues which may affect a young person's mental health, including sexual health, exam worries, jobs, drugs, alcohol and financial worries.
Thousands of children and young people will receive earlier, easy access mental health interventions at 24 hubs in local communities.
The drop-in centres offer mental health support and advice to young people without a referral by a doctor or school. Services provided include group work, counselling, psychological therapies, specialist advice and signposting to information and other services.
The government announced in October 2023 that £4.92 million would be available for 10 early support hubs. It is now providing an additional £3 million to expand the number of hubs to 24 across the country - ranging from Exeter to Liverpool.
The £8 million overall package will improve access for children and young people to vital mental health support, offering early interventions to improve wellbeing before their condition escalates further, which will also reduce pressure on NHS services.
Mental Health Minister Maria Caulfield said:
This government is taking the long term decisions needed to make our healthcare system faster, simpler and fairer. Mental health support for our young people is a key part of that.
No child or young person should suffer alone, and this additional funding for 24 mental health hubs will improve access and bring in more staff and experts who can help those who need it the most.
This will build on the brilliant work they already do, and supports our ongoing work to make sure every person has access the highest quality mental health services.
The hubs are open to those aged 11 to 25, and are available for anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support. Youngsters going through the trauma of worry, anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to when their problems first emerge.
A network of around 70 early support hubs currently exist across the country. They are run by a range of local services including volunteer organisations, NHS trusts and local authorities.
They aim to offer advice on wider issues which may affect a young person's mental health, including sexual health, exam worries, jobs, drugs, alcohol and financial worries.
The Fund the Hubs campaign group, compromising of BACP, Black Thrive Global, Centre for Mental Health, The Children's Society, Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, Mind, Youth Access, and YoungMinds, said:
The UK government's additional funding, which now covers 24 existing early support hubs, will mean more young people can access early mental health support and advice in their community.
The funding recognises the vital role that these hubs can play in easing the huge pressure services are under and provide much needed early mental health support for young people.
Thousands of young people and experts are still fighting hard to fund the hubs. These spaces mean young people can get support for their mental health as soon as they need it. We welcome this step forward and hope that a sustainably funded full national rollout will soon follow, so every young person can benefit from mental health support in their local community.
Progress is being made to support more children and young people with their mental health, regardless of background or location, with investment in NHS mental health services continuing to increase each year from almost £11 billion in the 2015 to 2016 financial year, to almost £16 billion in 2022 to 2023.
An additional £2.3 billion of funding a year by March 2024 is being used to expand and transform services, so an extra 2 million people can get mental health support. This includes an extra 345,000 children and young people who will be able to access NHS-funded mental health support.
Support in school is also important, which is why the government is continuing to roll out mental health support teams to schools and colleges in England. There are currently around 400 mental health support teams in place across England, covering over 3 million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges, and we’re extending coverage to at least 50% of pupils in England by the end of March 2025.
The full list of those receiving additional funding are:
ABL Health - Nottingham
Base 25 - Wolverhampton
Children and Young People’s Empowerment Project - Barnsley
Lancashire Mind - Chorley
Noah’s Ark Centre - Halifax
Onside – Worcester
Sheffield Futures – Sheffield
Spring North – Blackburn
The Children’s Society – Gateshead
Warrington Youth Zone Limited – Warrington
YMCA St Helens – St Helens
Young Persons Advisory Service – Liverpool
Brook Young People – Truro
Centre 33 – Cambridge
CHUMS Charity – Bedfordshire
Family Action – London
Isle of Wight Youth Trust – Isle of Wight
Mancroft Advice Project – Norwich
Mind – London
No Limits South – Southampton
People Potential Possibilities – Middlesex
The Children’s Society – Torquay
Young Devon – Exeter
Youth Enquiry Service – Wycombe
Scottish Government
In Scotland, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 applies to all those with a 'mental disorder', including children and young people. It contains specific safeguards for under 18s regarding mental health treatment, including on named persons, promoting wellbeing and the welfare of children.23 Jan 2024
Mental health support for children and young people
Expansion of service helping those in crisis.
A programme supporting young people with complex social issues attending A&E is to be expanded.
The Youth Navigators programme, delivered by Medics Against Violence, supports young people aged 12-16 arriving at Emergency Departments who are in distress. The service provides trained youth workers – Youth Navigators - to identify the help young people need and provide practical support so they can access relevant longer-term support.
The initiative has supported more than 600 young people since 2021 – most had experienced issues with their mental health and wellbeing; some on a chronic basis related to issues at home, with friend groups or bullying, and some more acutely experiencing suicidal thoughts and feelings and who may have caused harm to themselves.
Scottish Government funding of £64,000 will allow the expansion of the service to University Hospital Wishaw and a pilot of the Youth Navigator programme in schools.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said:
"I am pleased to announce additional funding to pilot the expansion of the Youth Navigator programme to University Hospital Wishaw and to pilot a new Youth Navigator approach by partnering with Taylor High in New Stevenson in Lanarkshire to place Youth Navigators in their school. Since the Youth Navigator programme started in mid-2021 it has supported over 600 young people.
"This additional support for the programme is in addition to the substantial investment we are already making to improve the mental health and wellbeing support provided to children, young people and their families in Scotland.
“This funding is the result of the Scottish Government listening to children, young people and families and taking direct action in the areas where they have told us more support is needed. Ensuring that all children and young people can get the right mental health and wellbeing support at the right time is a key priority for this government as our continued record investment in this area goes to show."
Co-Director and founder of Medics Against Violence, Professor Christine Goodall said, "We are delighted to receive funding from the Scottish Government to pilot the expansion of the Youth Navigator programme. The youth work approach that the Youth Navigators take provides young people with a trusted adult with whom they can discuss their feelings and through discussing what is most important to them, put plans in place to support a safer future.
“The expansion of the programme in the hospital setting is much needed and often requested by hospitals, the new approach of placing Youth Navigators in the school setting helps to take prevention further upstream to try and support young people with any issues they are facing before they get to the crisis point where they require medical intervention."
A young person who received support from the Youth Navigator programme said, "I appreciate what the Youth Navigator programme has done for me - giving me someone to talk to who won't invalidate my feelings and genuinely help me is something I've always wanted. I am so grateful to those involved - they really made a difference in my life."
