Children Mental health

The Importance of Mental Health and Wellbeing for School Students

Good mental health and wellbeing are crucial for school students, as they enable effective learning, help manage daily challenges, and foster resilience in young adults. Schools can play a significant role in supporting students' mental health by providing resources on coping with stress, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, schools can teach wellbeing strategies and cultivate safe, supportive environments where students feel comfortable discussing mental health and seeking help.

Schools can also promote positive thinking and resilience by teaching strategies for mental health, such as the ability to ask for help and accept support from others. These strategies, along with personal qualities like positive thinking, emotional awareness, and self-confidence, help students build resilience and cope with difficulties.

The increased focus on mental health awareness has helped reduce the stigma around seeking help, and campaigns like Children’s Mental Health Week and Mental Health Awareness Day have played a key role in encouraging individuals to seek support earlier. Thanks to these efforts, more children, young people, and adults are now able to access the help they need.

Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools

Schools are ideally positioned to identify the early signs of mental health issues. Changes to the Ofsted inspection framework in 2019 highlighted the importance of students' emotional and mental wellbeing. To achieve a good or outstanding rating, schools must ensure that students learn about emotional and mental health and are able to make informed decisions about their wellbeing.

Recent research involving over 8,000 students in 84 UK secondary schools found that a positive school climate, including strong peer relationships, supportive adults, and effective leadership, is associated with lower rates of depression, fewer social and emotional difficulties, and better overall wellbeing.

Creating a positive school environment, where students feel respected and supported, is key to enhancing mental health and wellbeing and preventing mental health issues from arising.

Defining Mental Health

The term "mental health" is often misunderstood, with many associating it only with mental illness. However, mental health refers to the ability to maintain positive mental health and wellbeing, which helps children thrive in life. Developing mental health in young people involves supporting them in becoming self-aware and learning strategies to improve their mental health, such as those outlined in the SEARCH Framework for Wellbeing.

Unfortunately, many children and young people lack these strategies, which can lead to a state of languishing, where they struggle to improve their wellbeing or access support. This lack of mental health strategies has worsened due to the impact of COVID-19, which has led to an increase in mental health problems among children and young people.

The Need for Mental Health Support in Schools

The demand for mental health support has risen significantly, with a sharp increase in referrals to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and reports from schools indicating that mental health issues are worsening, particularly during exam years. However, many children are not receiving the help they need, which can lead to long-term negative outcomes.

Addressing this issue requires promoting strategies for mental health and wellbeing, helping young people move from languishing to flourishing. Schools, where children spend most of their time, are ideally placed to provide this support, offering a protective environment that can help prevent mental health problems and improve overall wellbeing.

Wellbeing in Schools

The wellbeing of both students and teachers is essential for creating a positive school environment. Factors such as school culture, teacher support, and student engagement play a crucial role in fostering school wellbeing. When a school creates a culture where everyone feels valued, supported, and respected, it leads to better student achievement, teacher retention, and overall school outcomes.

The Role of Senior Mental Health Leads

To support schools in addressing mental health and wellbeing, the Department for Education (DfE) has advised that all schools appoint a Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL) by 2025. This role is designed to oversee the development of mental health strategies within schools, ensuring that mental health issues are identified early and that support is accessible.

The DfE's support includes a £1,200 training grant to help schools develop a whole-school approach to mental health, improving learning outcomes and reducing the onset of mental health problems.

Positive Education for Mental Health and Wellbeing

Positive Education, which applies principles from Positive Psychology to educational settings, uses evidence-based strategies to improve mental health and wellbeing. By developing personal wellbeing resources, students can flourish and develop essential skills such as self-awareness, resilience, emotional regulation, and the ability to set and achieve goals.

These strategies not only help prevent mental health problems but also support students who may already be struggling with their wellbeing, moving them towards a state of flourishing. With the right training and support, schools can teach these strategies and promote a whole-school approach to mental health, benefiting all students.