We’re partnering with the Mayor of London on a programme to boost mental health support in schools
£810,000 investment from the Mayor will support up to 15,000 young people.
Anna Freud is partnering with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, on a new programme that will provide mental health support for up to 15,000 young Londoners in schools across the capital.
The programme, funded by the Mayor’s office, will work with selected secondary schools across nine boroughs to help young people where there is a high need for mental health support.
The investment is designed to help young Londoners feel supported and enable them to access the vital opportunities they need to succeed. It will focus on building a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, including an emphasis on prevention and early intervention, helping schools to develop:
practical skills and knowledge
expertise on supporting neurodivergent young people
the creation of more inclusive and supportive environments for young people.
This could include creating peer support systems, exploring mental health and attendance, delivering a suite of mental health training to teachers and support staff, and student voice initiatives.
Jaime Smith MBE, Director of Schools at Anna Freud, 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.”
The new programme follows polling from YouGov last year, commissioned by Global Future Partners, that found that 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. Data from NHS Digital 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 will be carefully evaluated by Healthy Dialogues Ltd with best practice shared with other schools across the capital.
The programme begins September 2025 at schools in Camden, Greenwich, Haringey and Newham; followed by Bexley and Lambeth in October; and Southwark, Westminster, and Kensington & Chelsea in November.
If you're interested in developing your own whole-school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing, read about Anna Freud’s 5 Steps framework.