For all parents, the most important consideration for us is the happiness and well-being of our children. To see our children in crisis or ill-health is the hardest thing in the world, particularly if we know our children need support but aren’t receiving it.

The number of children experiencing poor mental health has increased significantly over the last decade, but services and schools have not always been equipped to respond to these increased demands. The Government is spending an extra £680 million this year to transform mental health services for children – hiring more staff, delivering more talking therapies, and getting waiting lists down.

Labour’s Plan for Change will see school mental health support rolled out to 900,000 more pupils this year, covering six in ten children across the country. This is part of a long-term plan that will ensure all pupils have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30, helping to improve children’s life chances and tackle the root causes of poor attendance and behaviour.

The new support teams are made up of specialists who offer a range of help to identify and tackle issues early on, from group sessions to build children’s resilience to 1:1s helping to manage anxiety – not only tackling the crisis of poor mental health among young people, but also driving up school attendance. The groups will work with school and college staff alongside NHS services to provide professional advice, easing the pressure on school staff and allowing them to help young people get the right support and stay in education.

Young people growing up in Chesterfield deserve the best start in life, and that is what this Labour Government will deliver. Together with this investment in mental health support we are also delivering free breakfast clubs in schools, fixing the SEND crisis, and delivering programmes to address behaviour and attendance problems. We are also committed to delivering two weeks’ worth of quality work experience for every young person and recruiting 1,000 new careers advisers. And our new Youth Guarantee will ensure all 18- to 21-year-olds in England can access help to find work.

Labour’s Plan for Change aims to create the healthiest and happiest generation of children ever in Britain – a generation that will be resilient to the modern world and prepared for adult life.