20 Feb 2026
A 14 year old girl from St Albans is calling on the Government to introduce mandatory mental health first aid training for all staff working in schools across England – and she needs your help.
With young people’s mental health at a crisis point, Olivia Hurley, a Year 9 pupil at St Albans Girls’ School, believes that every adult in a school setting should be equipped to recognise the signs and respond, before it is too late.
The petition, which can be found and signed at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/752963, needs 10,000 to receive a Government response, and 100,000 to be considered for a full parliamentary debate.
Olivia’s drive to act comes from what she says she sees and hears around her every day. Growing up in St Albans, she says she has witnessed first-hand the very real pressure that young people face, and is acutely aware of incidents in the local area that reflect a growing crisis in youth mental health. She believes that the adults best placed to help, teachers, teaching assistants and school support staff are too often left without the tools and training to do so.
“Mental Health training would also benefit the adults giving them confidence if a tricky situation happened at school,” said Olivia.
Olivia’s passion for the issue is rooted in her family as much as her school life. Her mum Samantha works for Youth Talk, the St Albans-based counselling charity for young people, and the family has long been conscious of the importance of mental health support for young people and adults alike.
“I am very proud of how Olivia has come to me with this insightful and mature discussion and idea,” said Olivia’s mum. “She has seen the world around her and decided to do something about it.
“That takes courage, and I hope the whole community will get behind her.”
Signing an official government petition takes just two minutes and could make a real difference to every child in every school in England. If the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, MPs will be asked to debate the issue in Parliament — putting mental health first aid firmly on the national agenda.
