This week, Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve writes exclusively to Bucks Free Press readers.

During the festive season there are so many images of happy children and their families that young people who are unhappy can feel they do not conform to the pattern and are isolated.

As parents, what we wish for most often for our children is health and happiness. If a child or adolescent is troubled, for whatever reason, then we want to make sure that the help they need is given to them as quickly as possible.

In the introduction to a Green Paper – a proposal for future legislation – published at the beginning of December the government says that one in ten young people has some form of diagnosable mental health condition.

This creates unequal life chances and mental health issues can continue into their adult life. Half of all mental conditions are established before the age of 14. Early intervention can prevent problems getting worse.

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield OBE, reported on Children’s Mental Healthcare in a report during October. The Commissioner referred to the disparity of the help which is available to children and adolescents in this country. 

Ms Longfield summed up what is required as “a mental health service that is designed for children and built to meet their needs; a service that supports children in the right place and the right time; and high quality evidence-based services, from the classroom to hospital care”.

The Green Paper sets out ways for schools and colleges to support pupils’ mental health, along with plans for new mental health support teams.

Our schools and colleges should have a designated person, a trained member of staff responsible for coordinating the help which pupils receive and making sure that other staff have the advice they need to help and refer children to specialist services if they need this.

The mental health support teams will provide a link to those services and work with other professionals.

The details are available on https://engage.dh.gov.uk/youngmentalhealth. The consultation runs until 2 March 2018.

As an MP I visit schools in my Beaconsfield constituency regularly, so I hope pupils who are troubled will be able to find the help they may need.