Mental health support in schools and colleges
Since 2018/19, the NHS has been implementing new mental health support teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges across England.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed the government is expanding MHSTs to 100% of schools in England by 2029/30.
Mental health support teams – progress to date
As of Spring 2025, over 600 MHSTs are now operational and accessible to 52% of the pupil and learner population, in over 10,000 education settings. We expect approximately 700 MHSTs to be up and running by Spring 2026.
Further information on MHST coverage can be found on gov.uk.
This builds on previous growth. The first wave of MHSTs – 58 ‘Trailblazer’ teams were commissioned in 2018/19.
By Spring 2022, this had risen to over 280 operational teams, covering 26% of pupils in schools and learners in Further Education, achieving the original NHS Long Term Plan coverage ambition a year early.
Early evaluation of the Trailblazer programme can be found on the University of Birmingham’s website.
The tables below summarises the number of operational MHSTs, as of May 2025. The national total of operational MHSTs is 714.
Operational MHSTs, broken down by year, region and ICB
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| North East and North Cumbria | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Humber Coast and North Yorkshire | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| South Yorkshire | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| West Yorkshire | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in North East and Yorkshire as of May 2025: 105
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| Cheshire and Merseyside | 3 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Lancashire and South Cumbria | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Greater Manchester | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in North West as of May 2025: 82
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| Nottingham and Nottinghamshire | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Coventry and Warwickshire | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| The Black Country | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Derby and Derbyshire | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Lincolnshire | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Birmingham and Solihull | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
| Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Herefordshire and Worcestershire | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Northamptonshire | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in Midlands as of May 2025: 140
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| Hertfordshire and West Essex | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Mid & South Essex | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Suffolk and North East Essex | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Norfolk and Waveney | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in East of England as of May 2025: 84
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| Gloucestershire | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Devon | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Somerset | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dorset | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in South West as of May 2025: 68
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Frimley | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Surrey Heartlands | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Sussex | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 0 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Kent and Medway | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in South East as of May 2025: 115
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| T* | W1-2 | W3-4 | W5-6 | W7-8 | W9-10 | W11-12 | |
| North East London | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| North Central London | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| North West London | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| South West London | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| South East London | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
*T=trailblazer, W=wave
Total MHSTs in London as of May 2025: 120