Pioneering London leads the way as Mayor invests new £810,000 to boost mental health support in schools
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Sadiq invests brand new record £810,000 to support the mental
health of young people in 16 schools across nine London boroughs –
delivering on his manifesto commitment Working in partnership with
leading charity Anna Freud, the new funding will enable schools to
support students' mental health and wellbeing New NHS data shows
referrals to children's mental health services have more than
doubled across both London and England since before the pandemic
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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a major new investment of £810,000 to provide pioneering mental health support for up to 15,000 young Londoners in schools across the capital. The programme, delivered in partnership with Anna Freud – a leading mental health charity for children and young people – will work with targeted secondary schools across nine boroughs to help young people where there is a high need for mental health support. Sadiq's investment is designed to help young Londoners feel supported. It will focus on making sure that every part of school life actively supports the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and families. This could include teaching stress-management techniques, introducing initiatives to make mental health more visible such as wellbeing weeks, parent sessions, peer-support groups or mental health training to teachers and support staff. As young people continue to face increasing mental health challenges, this initiative will help develop a model for how this innovative approach can work across a range of London school and provide vital evidence for the future of children's mental health support. Learnings will be shared with schools, the government and NHS partners as we work collaboratively to prepare for the full roll out of Mental Health Support Teams in schools by 2030. New NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services2 (CAMHS) data reveals that open referrals to services have more than doubled since before the pandemic. There were 81,575 open referrals to CAHMS in London in July 2025. In July 2019 the figure stood at 31,725. Across England these figures stood at 554,966 in July 2025 compared to 267,423 in July 2019. While data from NHS Digital3 also shows that children and young people with mental health problems are almost seven times as likely to have had 15 or more days off school in one term. The new programme follows polling from YouGov last year, commissioned by Global Future Partners¹, that found almost one in four young Londoners regularly feel emotionally unwell, and that almost half of 16–24 year olds feel their schools did not teach them enough about coping with mental health struggles. Evaluation of the new programme will be carefully conducted by Healthy Dialogues Ltd, with best practice shared with other schools across the capital to help them adapt to suit their individual needs. This delivers the Mayor's manifesto commitment to take action to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young Londoners with initiatives in and around secondary schools. The programme begins this month at schools in Camden, Greenwich, Haringey and Newham; followed by Bexley and Lambeth in October; and Southwark, Westminster, and Kensington & Chelsea in November. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “We are facing a national crisis with too many children and young people facing huge struggles with their mental health. That's why I'm stepping forward to help provide targeted schools across London with tools, training and support to make a real difference for their students. By working with our fantastic schools, partners and our NHS we can have a positive and lasting impact on our young people that can also help others across the country, as we work to make London the greatest and healthiest city in the world to grow up in.” Director of Schools at Anna Freud, Jaime Smith MBE, said: “We're delighted to work with the Mayor of London and help build the mental health and wellbeing of young people across London. By empowering staff with the tools to develop the right whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing for their setting, along with supporting them to share learnings throughout their borough, we can help to protect against mental ill health. A whole-school approach involves building supportive relationships and a sense of belonging throughout the school community as well as ensuring more targeted support is available for those that need it, creating the conditions needed to help students thrive.” Emma Christie, Deputy Director of Mental Health for the NHS in London, said: “Young people are facing more pressures than ever before, and the NHS in London is here to support them to look after their mental wellbeing. There are already 120 mental health support teams in London across various educational settings, which provide specialist advice and guidance, and we are committed to embedding mental health support in every London school by 2030. The Mayor of London's significant investment in the Mental Health in Schools project will go a long way in achieving our shared ambition, allowing more schools to support students' wellbeing and resilience.” Councillor Boyland, Camden Council Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families, said: “Our schools are places of opportunity to help improve young people's awareness and understanding of mental health and reduce the stigma around seeking support. I'm delighted that this initiative is coming to Camden's secondary schools to further our crucial support for young people with any challenges they face, giving them the opportunity to thrive in their education and onwards in their lives.” Councillor Adel Khaireh, Greenwich Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We welcome the Mayor's investment and focus on young people's metal health - it's a subject that we're passionate about in Royal Greenwich and the Mayor's announcement perfectly complements our own nine trailblazing Wellbeing in Schools Hubs, launched last year, that offer a bridge of emotional and practical support both in schools and with the family." Councillor Lucia das Neves, Haringey Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care & Wellbeing, and Councillor Zena Brabazon, Haringey Cabinet Member for Children, Schools & Families, said: “We are delighted to take part in this important initiative to support the mental health of young people in Haringey and across London. We hope that this early intervention can help young people access the care they need and support our wider work to tackle health inequalities.” ENDS Notes to Editors: References:
July 2025 - Open referrals (children's and young people's mental
health services) at end of the reporting period
July 2019 - Open referrals (children's and young people's mental
health services) at end of the reporting period About Anna Freud: Anna Freud is a mental health charity and we've been supporting children and young people for over 70 years. We listen to and learn from their diverse voices, and integrate this with learnings from our science and practice to develop and deliver mental health care. This holistic approach has world-changing potential – our training, schools support, networks, partnerships and resources equip those who impact children and young people's lives with the knowledge and skills to support their mental health. |