Brightcore Consultancy delivers Designated Senior Mental Health Lead training in schools and colleges which meets the Department for Education’s quality criteria, and our course is the highest rated of all the nationally DfE approved Senior Mental Health Lead training courses, scoring a perfect 5/5 in each of the 9 DfE quality assurance standards during the quality assurance process. It also has an incredible average delegate rating of 4.97 out of 5 for overall quality, with 100% of former delegates recommending the course - see our many fantastic testimonials here.
​​Our course consists of three days of live instructor-led training as well as an additional 1-2-1 review and coaching session, and costs £520+VAT per delegate. (For schools and colleges who have already completed the training with us and now wish to train further colleagues, we offer a subsidised rate for additional delegates of £390+VAT - please just email us if this is an offer you would like to take up.
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Places are limited to a maximum of 15 delegates per course to ensure high quality, bespoke training.
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An overview of the course structure can be found here.
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Take a look at what previous delegates have said about the training here.​
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Book your place
Course Information
Working with an expert trainer and a highly experienced Senior Mental Health Lead, who has trained Senior Mental Health Leads in over 1000 schools and colleges nationwide, you will be introduced to the DfE’s requirements for the role of the DSMHL, and learn proven, long-term, evidence-based strategies to create, lead and promote a dynamic, bespoke mental health and wellbeing approach for your setting.
DFE Course Code - SMHL018
Learning Level - Beginner
Settings aimed at - Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Colleges (Sixth Form and Further Education), Middle deemed Primary, Middle deemed Secondary, Alternative Provision
DFE Funding Deadline
​The deadline for eligible Schools and Colleges to claim a £1,200 grant for their Mental Health Lead to attend DfE quality assured training starting, is 31st of December 2024, but the grant can be used to pay for training starting anytime before the end of March 2025. The training will help your Mental Health Lead develop your setting’s holistic approach to promoting and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, learners and staff.
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Further details about Grant eligibility and how to apply for the funding are available on the gov.uk site here. Our highly-acclaimed course meets the DfE’s criteria for the ‘Learning outcomes for senior mental health leads’, and schools and colleges will be able to apply for this course to be fully funded as part of the £1200 grant, and, as our course only costs £520, the remaining £680 is permitted to be used by settings in any of the following ways:
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For supply cover for the senior mental health lead, should a school or college need to backfill a senior lead while undertaking training
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To fund further training, activity or resources that supports the development of a senior mental health lead, and contributes to the implementation of an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing in a setting including:
- Additional courses or coaching that support the further development of the senior mental health lead, enabling them to establish, implement or sustain a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing
- External support to assess your existing school or college approach to promoting and supporting mental health, to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement
- Online resources and toolkits that support the senior lead, or other staff, to embed, sustain or otherwise improve the effectiveness of their whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing (many resources are available for free)
- Other activities by the senior lead within their setting that focus on raising wider awareness and understanding of their whole school or college approach to better promote and support mental health (eg promotion materials or awareness sessions for education staff) funds can also claim an additional.
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Once you have booked a place on the course, schools and colleges who are eligible to apply for the funding will need to submit proof of booking to the DfE as well as the course code as part of their grant application, The DfE funding Code for this course is: SMHL018. The DfE wishes to reassure learners that your grant is reserved once you’ve successfully completed the first form confirming your eligibility (the DfE has honoured every grant application made, and retrospective payment of grants is normal practice – they are paid at certain dates every 12 weeks).
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For those who wish to book a place without applying for the DfE grant, please simply complete stage 3 above.
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