BLACKBURN with Darwen Council is partnering with health chiefs to follow up on an unsuccessful bid to expand access to mental health care for children and young people.

In December, it was announced the borough had been unsuccessful in its attempt to be appointed as one of 25 trailblazer areas, where 59 Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are working and local governance structures are being put in place.

Now the council is bidding to obtain funding as part of the second wave of the programme.

Blackburn with Darwen CCG will lead and co-ordinate the development of the proposal in partnership with representatives from the council (Children’s Services and Public Health), Schools, Community Voluntary and Faith Sector, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust and Lancashire Care Foundation Trust.

As part of the trial, the mental health support teams develop models of early intervention on mild to moderate mental health issues, such as exam stress, behavioural difficulties or friendship issues, as well as providing help to staff within a school and college setting.

The 25 first wave pilot sites for this initiative, which aims to increase access to mental health support for children and young people and improve early intervention, saw significant new funding of around £800,000 per year as part of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health green paper.

The selection of trial sites for the second wave will be informed by local needs and inequalities and regions will also be asked to achieve expansion of MHSTs into new geographical areas as well as extending coverage within existing areas.

CCGs are being asked to engage and involve key stakeholders in developing and submitting expressions of interest, including involving directors of children's services, regional schools commissioners and education leaders.

The Department for Education has stipulated that for 2019/20, schools and colleges with an inadequate Ofsted rating are not included, although this will be kept under review for future selection rounds.