It must be a matter of priority for all of us that we do everything in our power to ensure our children are happy and healthy. I know Ministers share this view and I am reassured that many steps are already being taken towards this goal.
While the coronavirus pandemic poses clear challenges for children and young people's mental health, it is somewhat encouraging that the most recent State of the Nation report found that children and young people aged five to 24 generally responded with resilience to changes in their lives between March and September 2020. Despite indications of challenges to their mental wellbeing they reported stable levels of happiness and only slight reduction in satisfaction with their lives.
The report suggested that the return to school or college would play a vital role in improving the mental wellbeing of many pupils, by easing some of the main worries identified in the research: time off from education, being isolated from friends, fewer opportunities to be more physically active and also lacking access to pastoral support. As such I was delighted that all students were able to return to educational settings for the 2021-22 academic year and that all remaining restrictions on educational settings have been lifted.
I am aware that as we continue to recover from the pandemic, children and young people's mental health is a priority for the Government. Last year, the Department for Education provided £8 million in funding for the Wellbeing for Education Return Scheme, and a further £7 million has now been provided to local authorities to provider further expert support as the programme continues. In March 2021, the Government also announced an additional £79 million over the 2021/22 financial year to accelerate the planned expansion of young people's mental health services, which will include 2,000 more children and young people getting access to the help they need.
I am also pleased that Mental Health Support Teams are being rolled out to schools and colleges. It is welcome that the number of these support teams is set to grow from 59 to 400 by April 2023, reaching nearly 3 million children in England. These teams will employ new staff who are being recruited and trained specifically for the programme.
Moreover, the introduction of the new compulsory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum is another important step in improving our children’s overall wellbeing. The curriculum is designed to equip children early-on with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships, as well as preparing them for adult life in a changing world.
The Department for Education has also put together a huge package of support for teachers and pupils across the country. In total, £4.9 billion has now been made available to fund a range of measures to cover the impact that the school closures have had on the education sector. This will provide £324 million in 2024-25 for additional learning hours for 16-19 year olds as well as £1.4 billion to deliver up to six million tutoring courses for disadvantaged pupils. It will also fund the expansion of the existing teacher training and development, progressing the Department's ambition to train up to 500,000 teachers over the next three academic years.
The Department for Education is committed to ensuring that the youngest members of society are given the help and support they need to fulfil their potential, as well as their families. This is demonstrated by the Department's roll out of Family Hubs with an investment of £18 million in the programme. The funding will provide a new National Centre for Family Hubs to provide expert advice, guidance and advocacy, as well as data and digital products to support the practical implementation of the Hubs by helping local early years professionals to provide joined up planning and support for families.
Finally, ministers have also announced that they will deliver the 'Action Areas' set out in the Early Years Healthy Development Review. This plan will include designing digital, virtual and telephone services around the needs of families with babies; establishing a skilled workforce to meet the changing needs of families with babies; and encouraging local areas to nominate a leader and ensuring the delivery of the Review is overseen at a national level.