Cornwall has been awarded £8.9m from the Big Lottery Fund’s HeadStart programme to support the emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people over the next five years. 

Cornwall is one of just six areas across the country to receive a Big Lottery Fund grant this year which will be used to support the delivery of the HeadStart Kernow Strategy from 2016 to 2021.

Andrew Wallis, the council’s lead member for children and young people, said: ’This funding will be used to support a range of activities in schools and in local communities, help develop the workforce and improve support systems to ensure that all children and young people in Cornwall can access the right support when they need it.’

Cornwall’s HeadStart programme, involving a wide range of partners including the council, the police and the NHS, was set up in 2014 after the council was invited by the Big Lottery Fund to submit a bid for funding to help support young people aged between 10 and 16 to deal better with difficult circumstances, and help manage emotional and mental health challenges before they become serious issues.

Over the past two years the programme has worked with 61 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and one special school across Cornwall, helping to support around 10,000 young people.  Specialist training has been provided to more than 100 practitioners, both in schools and in the voluntary and community sectors.

Richard Head, programme lead for HeadStart Kernow, said the new grant would enable the team to build on its work and support more children and young people in Cornwall.