School Mental Health Lead

A senior mental health lead in schools is a professional responsible for promoting and supporting mental health and well-being initiatives within an educational setting. Their role is crucial in recognizing and addressing the mental health needs of students, staff, and the wider school community. Here are some key responsibilities of a senior mental health lead:

• Strategic Planning: They collaborate with school administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders to develop and implement a comprehensive mental health strategy for the school. This may involve assessing the existing mental health support systems, identifying areas for improvement, and developing long-term plans.
• Training and Education: They provide training and workshops (supported by Education Mental Health Teams) for school staff to increase awareness and understanding of mental health issues. This may include topics such as recognizing signs of mental health problems, promoting positive well-being, and implementing effective support strategies.
• Student Support: They work closely with, or oversee the mental health team, providing guidance and support for student mental health concerns. They may also liaise with external mental health professionals or agencies to coordinate additional support if required.
• Staff Support: They offer guidance and consultation to school staff, providing resources and strategies to support the mental health needs of students. This can include advising on behaviour management, crisis intervention, and creating a positive and inclusive classroom environment.
• Community Engagement: They collaborate with parents, guardians, and external organizations to foster a supportive and inclusive school community. This may involve organizing mental health awareness campaigns, facilitating parent workshops, and connecting families with appropriate resources.
• Data Analysis and Evaluation: They monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of mental health initiatives in the school, collecting and analysing relevant data to inform decision-making and improve the overall well-being of students and staff.

Overall, a senior mental health lead plays a vital role in prioritizing mental health within the school environment, ensuring that appropriate support is available, and creating a culture of well-being for all members of the school community.

What’s the difference between a Senior Mental Health Lead and a Designated Mental Health Lead?

In some settings these two roles may be combined, however the Liverpool WSA model promotes a distinction between these two roles. The senior lead may have more of a strategic implantation and planning role and the designated lead may have a more hands-on operational role. If you have a large school or college, you may have staff in both roles working closely together. In a smaller school the same person may be responsible for strategy, planning and coordination.

Who can be a Senior Mental Health Lead?

In most schools the mental health lead will be a senior member of staff with additional duties and responsibilities to lead school mental health and wellbeing. They may be the head teacher, the deputy or assistant head teacher or another member of SLT, in some cases they may be a middle leader with additional responsibilities to work closely with SLT to develop the Whole School Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing.

You may be considering giving the SMHL responsibility to your SENCO or behaviour lead, but it is important to note mental health and wellbeing needs although linked to learning or special educational needs, are different. Having different staff allocated to different roles such as behaviour lead or SENCO and SMHL can bring greater clarity of the role and remit of mental health and wellbeing support in your school.

Is there training?

Liverpool Learning Partnership and Merseyside Youth Association are delivering DfE approved and funded training for Senior Mental Health Leads. More information about this course can be found here. Grants are available to fully cover the costs of this training and can be accessed here. Once the grant has been approved schools can book directly through the ROAR website – course code for DfE is SMHL005.

An example job description for a Senior Mental Health Lead can be found here. SMHL job description. Please feel free to adapt and use it within your setting.

WSA Termly Network Events

These take place once a term and provide opportunity for Mental Health Leads to come together to;

• Meet and network with other school Mental Health Leads
• Share Best Practice
• Receive city-wide WSA updates
• Meet with EMHT services

See out Events Calendar for the network dates.

What are Mental Health Support Schools’ Teams?

The Liverpool WSA mental health support offer is delivered by a range of services working in partnership to support children, young people, families and staff in education.

To facilitate a coordinated approach service teams are working across three mental health community hubs the city. All schools/education establishments are being aligned to one of the 3 hubs – North, Central and South.

Schools’ Teams consist of a range of providers/services that deliver across the pathway, some working within targeted levels and others across levels of need.

You can find more information in the individual support directory, and the WSA toolkit at the top of this page.

The offer is delivered to schools across 4 levels of need. Here is an illustration of the mapped offer for primary schools:

Full details of the school off the offer for schools can be found in the following documents:

Schools’ Team offer Secondary

Schools’ Team offer Primary

The Standard Operating Procedure for partnership delivery can be found here: Schools’ Team SOP 2024 (1)