**TL;DR - Nurses trained in mental health will be vital in schools, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic there has been an increase in children with mental health issues. Nurses trained in mental health will be able to identify mental health issues earlier in children which is beneficial for the children and can save the NHS money in the future.** The last NHS survey of children’s mental health was in 2004. It found that 1 in 10 children between the ages of 5 and 15 had a mental health disorder (emotional, behavioural, hyperactive). A survey was then completed in 2017 that found these figures have increased to 1 in 9. The inclusion of young people (5-19) resulted in an increase to 1 in 8. The main factor was an increase in emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression which rose to 5.8% in 2017 from 3.9% in 2004. [1] Due to Covid-19, these figures are set to rise. A study showed that the increase in probable mental health problems reported in adults also affected 5–16 year olds in England, with the incidence rising from 10·8% in 2017 to 16·0% in July 2020 across age, gender, and ethnic groups. More than a quarter of children (aged 5–16 years) and young people (aged 17–22) reported disrupted sleep and one in ten (5·4% of children and 13·8% of young people) often or always felt lonely. Both problems were more common in those with probable mental health problems, of whom 18·0% felt fearful of leaving the house because of COVID-19. [2] School nurses can be effective when working with children and young people with mental health needs. As specialist public health nurses their primary area of work should be on the promotion of good mental health and the early identification and support for those who have poor mental health. Mental health training can give school nurses the confidence and skills they need to understand and engage on mental health issues affecting their pupils. [3] Pupil numbers are expected to grow in England from 7.14 million in 2014 to 8.02 million in 2023 [4]. With children currently already experiencing mental health issues, the ability to identify these early will both avoid extra costs for the NHS in treatment for severe mental health issues, and will promote the importance of mental health in children. Resources [1]https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/blog/what-new-statistics-show-about-childrens-mental-health [2]https://files.digital.nhs.uk/CB/C41981/mhcyp_2020_rep.pdf [3]https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjsn.2015.10.3.126 [4]https://www.nursingtimes.net/opinion/school-nurses-can-support-mental-health-and-wellbeing-but-only-if-we-have-enough-of-them-01-03-2019/

(Pardon if I am misunderstanding your argument and this is in fact what you are arguing for) I agree that schools need people who are trained in mental health services, but I think it would make more sense for those people to be social workers/counselors, rather than nurses with an additional training in mental health. Social workers are much more specialized and have a more extensive knowledge of mental health issues than those trained primarily in nursing. I think it's best to delegate duties as much as possible to avoid these essential workers being overworked (which could result in the students not getting the care they need).