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£9.4 million to move mental health workers into children's social care teams

Qurexa Editorial Team24 October 20266 min read 0 0
£9.4 million to move mental health workers into children's social care teams

What happened

On 23 October 2026 the government announced a new mental health pilot for children and young people who are supported by children's social care. The pilot is called Care Together. It will run in Greater Manchester, backed by up to £9.4 million of government money over three years. It is led by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, working with three local authorities: Stockport, Tameside and Rochdale. The idea is simple to describe. Mental health professionals from existing NHS services will be placed inside children's social care teams. At the moment, a child usually has to be referred out into a separate service and wait. Under this model, the mental health worker is already in the room. Support is meant to follow need rather than a referral threshold. It will include family therapy, and support for parents and primary carers, not only for the child. Up to 7,000 children and young people could be covered, along with their parents, carers and guardians. It is due to launch in early 2027 and run to 2029. An evaluation will run alongside it, to judge whether the model could be used in other areas. The pilot follows an independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, led by Professor Fonagy, which recommended better integrated mental health support.

Why this matters

Children who are known to social care have usually had a hard start, and the people working with them say so plainly. Josh MacAlister OBE MP, the Children's Minister, said children supported by social care often face severe mental health challenges because of trauma and adversity. He said: "Every child deserves people in their corner." Professor Manisha Kumar, Chief Clinical Officer at NHS Greater Manchester, said: "Children who are known to social care have often experienced a range of adversity." She said the pilot will offer trauma-informed, holistic support. The problem being targeted here is not really a shortage of services. It is the joins between them. One child can have a social worker, a school, a GP and a mental health service, all with different records, different waiting lists and different rules about who qualifies. Every join is somewhere a young person can fall through. Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP, Minister of State for Public Health and Patient Safety, said fragmented mental health services had left young people in care, care leavers, parents, carers and guardians without clear support. Putting a mental health worker inside the social care team removes one of those joins. The young person is not handed over to someone new. The help arrives in the team already around them.

What the evidence actually says

This is a pilot, and it is worth reading it as one. The government announcement gives no figures on how common mental health problems are among children in care. It describes the need in words, not numbers. The "up to 7,000" is a ceiling for how many people could be covered, not a count of children who will receive help. The money is "up to £9.4 million" across three years. Spread over three local authority areas, that is roughly £1 million a year each. It buys professional time inside existing teams. It does not build a new service from nothing. Nothing has started yet, either. Launch is early 2027, and the pilot ends in 2029. Whether the model spreads depends on what the evaluation finds. The announcement does set the pilot in a wider picture: £2.4 billion through the Families First Partnership Programme, a commitment to create 10,000 new foster places this Parliament, a £500 million expansion of children's homes, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act now passed, and Staying Close support being extended up to age 25. What none of that yet tells us is whether embedding mental health staff inside social care teams actually improves outcomes for children. It is a sensible idea with good reasons behind it. That is not the same as proof, and the evaluation exists precisely because the government knows it.

Practical advice

If you live in Stockport, Tameside or Rochdale and your family is supported by children's social care, your social worker is the person to ask about Care Together nearer to its launch in early 2027. Everyone else should know this: you do not have to wait for a pilot to ask for help. If a child or young person is struggling, start with your GP, or with the school's designated safeguarding lead or pastoral team. Schools can refer, and they often know the local routes best. Parents and carers are included in this pilot for a reason. If you are the one holding everything together and you are exhausted, say that out loud to a professional. It is useful clinical information, not a complaint or an admission of failure. Free help exists right now across the UK. Childline is free to call on 0800 1111 for children and young people. Shout offers free, 24-hour text support — text SHOUT to 85258. YoungMinds runs a Parents Helpline for adults worried about a child. If a child is at immediate risk of harm, call 999. For urgent mental health help that is not an emergency, NHS 111 can point you to your local crisis service.

What to know

On 23 October 2026 the government announced Care Together, a mental health pilot for children and young people supported by children's social care in Greater Manchester. Up to £9.4 million over three years will place NHS mental health professionals inside children's social care teams in Stockport, Tameside and Rochdale, potentially reaching up to 7,000 children and young people plus their parents and carers. It is led by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, runs from early 2027 to 2029, and follows Professor Fonagy's independent review. It is a pilot with an evaluation attached, so the model is being tested rather than rolled out. Help from your GP, your child's school, Childline, Shout and NHS 111 is available now and does not depend on it. Sources: Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, "New mental health pilot for young people supported by social care", 23 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-mental-health-pilot-for-young-people-supported-by-social-care; Department of Health and Social Care, "Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism: final report", 21 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-final-report; NHS, "Where to get urgent help for mental health", https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/advice-for-life-situations-and-events/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are worried about a child's mental health, speak to your GP or your child's school.

#mental health#children and young people#social care#NHS#Greater Manchester#care leavers

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