ABSTRACT
Educating children and young people about mental health is vitally important. It is highlighted in a number of government documents and initiatives. While the coalition government has not actually stated that the Every Child Matters' (ECM) agenda no longer exists, they are referring to it as helping children to achieve more. Paul Ennals, who was partly responsible for the development of ECM and is the Chief Executive Officer from the National Children's Bureau, suggests that the way forward is to drop the brand or label but insists the importance of the outcomes remain. Local authorities were invited to bid for government funding to tackle mental health problems in schools. The initiative was to be jointly led by representatives from health and education and each local authority could pilot their own programme. The government acknowledged that sometimes parents need help and support bringing up children.
