To ask the Minister of Health to outline the research basis for his Department's decisions around prioritisation of mental health support for children of primary school age.

Improving mental health support for all children and young people, not just children of primary school age, is a priority for my Department.

Firstly, the Mental Health Strategy 2021-2031 sets out a number of key strategic actions to further improve the emotional wellbeing and mental health of our children and young people over the next decade, from infancy through to older adolescents. This includes increasing Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) funding and putting in place a ‘no wrong door’ approach.

As well as this, Actions 1 and 2 of the Strategy set out key commitments for promoting mental health through early intervention and prevention, with year-on-year actions covering a whole life approach, reaching from infancy to older age. A three-year Early Intervention and Prevention Plan has been developed under the Strategy. One of the key actions within this plan is to ensure collective responsibility for promoting and supporting the emotional wellbeing of all our infants, children and young people.

In addition to the Mental Health Strategy, in February 2021, the Department of Health and the Department of Education jointly launched the Children and Young People’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing in Education Framework. The main emphasis of the Framework is to support educational settings to promote emotional health and wellbeing at a universal level, through a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach, building resilience to enable our children and young people to cope with challenges they may face in life and providing early and enhanced support for those who may be at risk or showing signs of needing further help. Services and projects that have been established under the Framework are available across primary and post-primary schools.

The above strategies and frameworks were formulated using a wide range of research and evidence bases. Examples of this include: the 2020 Youth Wellbeing Child and Adolescent Prevalence Survey; the ‘Elephant in the Room’ research produced by the NI Youth Forum and Children’s Law Centre; and the ‘Still Waiting’ report produced by the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People.