Promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges

The importance of promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing

The government’s Plan for Change aims to break down barriers to opportunity. A key element of this plan is to improve support for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing in schools.

Good mental health and wellbeing improves standards in schools and helps pupils achieve and thrive in education, setting them up well for life and work.

Good mental health and wellbeing helps pupils:

• attend school
• develop key life skills, particularly social and emotional skills
• engage in learning
• achieve academically
• have better longer term outcomes, such as future employment

Embedding an evidence-based, holistic, whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing helps to achieve this.

Principles of a whole school or college approach

The Department for Education (DfE) and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities published guidance on the 8 principles of a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing. These are:

• an ethos and environment that promotes respect, and values diversity
• leadership and management that supports and champions efforts to promote emotional health and wellbeing
• staff development to support their own wellbeing and that of pupils and learners
• curriculum teaching and learning to promote resilience and support social and emotional learning
• enabling student voice to influence decisions
• identifying the need for and monitoring the impact of interventions
• targeted support and appropriate referral
• working with parents and carers

Schools and colleges can appoint a mental health lead to develop and oversee their setting’s whole school or college approach.

Promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges - GOV.UK