Place2Be gives evidence to the Education Select Committee
On Tuesday 8 February, during Children’s Mental Health Week 2022, Place2Be’s Chief Executive Catherine Roche presented evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee.
The Education Select Committee is a group of MPs from different parties. They investigate issues facing children and young people and make recommendations to the Department for Education.
In a session chaired by Robert Halfon MP in Parliament, Catherine joined Mouhssin Ismail (Principal at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form, London), and wellbeing experts Lord Gus O’Donnell and Lord Richard Layard. This session focused on mental health and wellbeing in education.
Key themes emerging from the discussion were:
- The importance of improving data and regularly measuring children's wellbeing.
- The need for Government policies on children’s mental health to be more ambitious.
- The need for access to expert mental health support in all schools.
- The need to refocus the purpose of schools from being about delivering academic success to also supporting people to be balanced human beings with social skills and emotional intelligence which are needed for the jobs of the future.
Watch the video to see the full session.
News & blogs

The Young BAFTA Roadshow with Place2Be arrives in Southwark Primary School
Surrey Square Primary were visited by Young BAFTA Roadshow and TV journalist, presenter and author Ashley John-Baptiste.
Read more
Social media, my children and me
Place2Be's Programme Leader for Family Work, Judah, explores how he navigates technology and social media with his children.
Read more
Fostering the power of relationships
Celebrate the power of relationships to transform the lives of children and young people in foster care.
Read more