It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and this year’s theme is all about the power of community. When it comes to supporting the mental health of students, a community approach is vital. This is demonstrated by the Department for Education’s (DfE) 8 principles of a whole school or college approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness week, this article provides a summary of the 8 principles the DfE lists as essential for promoting student mental health and wellbeing. To help schools and colleges put them into action, we’ve also included example steps to implement the principles in your setting.
8 Principles of a Whole-School Approach to Mental Health & Wellbeing
According to the DfE, the following components, “if applied consistently and comprehensively”, can help education settings in their efforts “towards protecting and promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.”
1. Leadership and management
Establishing a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing involves both collective and individual responsibility. In order for new initiatives and shifts in ethos to be truly accepted schoolwide, they must be championed by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
Leaders have the power to allocate resources, set expectations and create a culture where wellbeing is prioritised. A strong commitment from the SLT therefore ensures that mental health and wellbeing are central to an institution’s vision, integrated into policies and reflected through practice.
Example action(s):
- Appoint a member of the SLT to be the Mental Health Lead, ensuring that wellbeing policies are embedded in wider school plans from the top down.
2. School ethos and environment
A respectful and inclusive environment helps students feel safe, valued and connected. It also encourages positive relationships between pupils and between staff and students.
Schools should work to ensure that both physical and digital settings promote safety, a sense of belonging and consideration of the feelings of others, to minimise bullying and discrimination.
Developing such environments must involve informed consideration of how to support the mental health and wellbeing of those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Example action(s):
- Get the whole school community involved in events like Anti-Bullying Week.
- Apply effective web filtering to create a safe digital environment where students are protected from harmful and inappropriate content.
3. Curriculum, teaching and learning
Mental health and wellbeing topics need to be embedded across the curriculum, with a focus on helping students to build resilience and develop coping strategies. Students can learn key social and educational skills, including how to identify potential mental health struggles in themselves and others, and when and how to seek help for such issues.
As young people spend so much time in the digital world, educating them on digital literacy, social media use and managing online risks becomes increasingly vital to protect their mental health.
Example action(s):
- Integrate regular digital wellbeing lessons into the curriculum, covering topics including screen time balance, the positive and negative impacts of social media, and online safety tips. Platforms such as the Online Safety Hub offer digital safety and wellbeing lesson plans, activities and resources tailored to all members of the school community.
4. Student voice
Empowering students to express their views and participate in shaping wellbeing initiatives helps to ensure that the support schools provide is relevant and effective.
Encouraging students to play a key role in their own development provides them with an important sense of control over their own lives, and can help them to feel part of a community.
Keeping track of student wellbeing levels enables staff to gain a deeper understanding of changing trends and needs - the student voice provides the most accurate account of this.
Example action(s):
- Set up student councils, encourage peer-led initiatives and implement digital wellbeing platforms, such as Pulse, to measure student wellbeing and provide students with a channel through which to speak up.
5. Staff development, health and wellbeing
It’s important for staff to be well-informed of the safeguarding systems in place, how they work and their specific responsibilities in relation to these strategies. By offering regular training on recognising mental health issues, schools can help staff to feel confident that they have the tools and abilities to keep students and colleagues safe.
Schools should also prioritise and invest in the mental health and wellbeing needs of staff. This is vital to maintaining a healthy, productive workforce and ensuring that staff have the necessary support to nurture both their own wellbeing and that of the students in their care.
Example action(s):
- Offer staff access to mental health support and resources from external charities such as Education Support.
- Use digital wellbeing platforms like Pulse to monitor staff wellbeing levels - establishing an environment where everyone feels supported and able to request help, should they need it.
6. Identifying need and monitoring impact
Schools should have robust processes for identifying vulnerable students and those who may be at potential risk. This involves having systems in place to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, enabling schools to gauge overall wellbeing levels and develop an understanding of the specific issues and trends impacting students.
Keeping track of these factors also enables leaders to measure the effectiveness of mental health interventions and policies. These evaluations can inform reviews and provide a solid basis for future response plans.
Example action(s):
- Invest in a digital monitoring system that can quickly flag vulnerable students and provide staff with a wide range of data on concerning trends and developing risks.
7. Working with parents and carers
Engaging the parent and carer community in mental health and wellbeing initiatives ensures a level of consistency between home and school life for students. Schools can encourage this by regularly providing parents with information, guidance and opportunities to get involved.
Schools can also communicate forms of help that are relevant to parents and carers, and make them aware of additional support options that are available in their local areas.
Example action(s):
- Host workshops for parents covering key mental health topics. Smoothwall’s Training and Consultancy service, for example, offers online and in-person sessions for schools and their parent communities on a range of digital safety and wellbeing subjects.
8. Targeted support
Schools should offer tailored support for students experiencing mental health difficulties and facilitate referrals to external services where appropriate. This could include counselling, mentoring or specialist interventions.
Delays in identifying safeguarding incidents or mental health needs can have far-reaching effects on all aspects of a student’s life. Schools and colleges are therefore advised to be proactive in their efforts to detect potential wellbeing issues, so that interventions happen before risks have a chance to develop.
Example action(s):
- Utilise a human-moderated digital monitoring system that triggers real-time alerts to facilitate timely interventions. Human moderators can provide safeguarding teams with the context surrounding incidents to aid decision-making and ensure support is targeted.
For a comprehensive view of the DfE’s guidelines on developing a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, read the full document: Promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Developing your community approach to mental health and wellbeing
To learn more about our training and consultancy services, the Online Safety Hub, or to book a free demo of Pulse for your setting, contact enquiries@smoothwall.com. We’re happy to help.
