New three-year pilot to provide more mental health support for children in care

The pilot will bring together social workers and NHS health professionals to provide earlier, more coordinated mental health support for children in care and their families. Ministers say the initiative is intended to reduce delays in accessing help and prevent needs escalating to crisis point – a persistent concern for practitioners working with care-experienced children.

Children in care are significantly more likely than their peers to experience mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, access to timely, trauma-informed support remains inconsistent across the country, with long waits and high thresholds often leaving social workers to manage unmet need.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the pilot would build on existing local approaches, formalising closer collaboration between children’s social care and NHS services to ensure support is available “when it is needed most”. Further details on the pilot areas and referral pathways are expected to be announced in the new year.

Alongside the mental health pilot, the government confirmed that care leavers will receive free NHS prescriptions, dental treatment and eyecare up to the age of 25. Ministers estimate that tens of thousands of young people will benefit from the extension, which is intended to address the sharp reduction in support many experience when they turn 18.

Research has shown that care-experienced young people face substantial barriers to accessing both physical and mental healthcare, with more than a quarter of care leavers not told how to register with a GP or dentist when leaving care.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said children in care face “a barrage of health inequalities” that damage their chances later in life.

“Those in care face the toughest start in life and as a result suffer from a barrage of health inequalities, hampering their chances of going on to lead a happy, successful and fulfilling life.

“I’m proud that this government and the work Josh MacAlister did in my department will help break down those barriers to stop care leavers being held back.”

New safeguarding measures will also require GPs to be notified when a child or young person is in care, giving health professionals clearer information about a patient’s circumstances. A new regulation will allow information to be shared more quickly across health services where concerns arise, with the aim of preventing children from being missed as they move placements or services.

Josh MacAlister, minister for children and families, said the pilot delivered on recommendations from the independent review of children’s social care, which he led in 2022, and reflected a growing recognition of the link between trauma, mental health and children’s outcomes.

“The disadvantage faced by children who’ve grown up in care is a huge social injustice,” he said. “This package of health measures will make a tangible difference to reduce health inequalities, keep more children safe and help more families with intensive support.”

The announcement comes as the government progresses the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, described by ministers as the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation. The bill will place new duties on public bodies to consider the specific needs of children in care and care leavers, including in health settings.

Sector leaders have long argued that improving mental health provision for children in care is critical to reducing placement breakdown, exclusion from education and later involvement with adult services. However, they are likely to watch closely whether the pilot leads to sustained national change or remains limited in scale.