How Could Mental Health Be Promoted Within Primary Education?

Ellena Barnett - St20100668

How Could Mental Health Be Promoted Within Primary Education?

In recent years, the awareness of mental health has become a big topic across the country; it is important to understand that dealing with mental health is not an issue that only adults deal with, with one in ten children having a diagnosable mental health disorder, that is roughly three children in every classroom (Young Minds, 2017).

The Mental Health Foundation (no date) states that being mentally healthy does not mean that you do not have a mental health problem, and that it is important to understand that everyone has mental health and is just as important as good physical health. An individual’s mental health does not always stay the same, with it changing depending on certain circumstances and as a person moves through different stages of their life (Mental Health Foundation, no date).

Within England, a study was carried out by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, which found out that more than half of primary school teachers say they do not feel adequately trained in supporting pupils with mental health problems, with only 12% saying they felt “very confident” to which organisations to approach to help pupils with mental health issues (Weale, 2017). After this research was published, the Welsh Government announced a £1.4 million pilot scheme to be launched where specialists will be on hand to give better mental health support within 200 schools across Wales (Morris, 2017 and BBC News, 2017). This announcement comes as the concern grows about the ability of schools to look after children with mental health problems (Morris, 2017).

Under Wales’ curriculum reform ‘Successful Futures’ (2015), Donaldson suggests that there is to be more of an emphasis on mental health within the classroom. Instead of just carrying out P.E and P.S.H.E lessons as separate subjects, they have been combined to create the Area of Learning and Experience, Health and Well-Being. As stated by Donaldson (2015), this Area of Learning and Experience draws on subjects and themes from P.E., mental, physical and emotional well-being, sex and relationships, healthy eating and cooking, and substance misuse. Donaldson (2015) gives ‘illustrative examples’ of how the Health and Well-being Area of Learning and Experience can contribute to all four purposes of the curriculum; to become ambitious, capable learners pupils will be putting into practice their knowledge and understanding of social, physical and emotional health in their own lives; to become enterprising, creative contributors pupils will develop the skills and attributes for successful participation in work, taking part in team endeavours and mentoring and supporting others; to become ethical, informed citizens pupils will start understanding the consequences of their actions that affect others and themselves and taking these into account in actions and decisions; to become healthy, confident individuals, pupils will know how to keep safe in a range of different circumstances and where to go for help as well as understanding regular physical activity and developing and maintaining positive relationships. When educating children on mental health, they will be contributing towards becoming ethical, informed citizens, as they will start to understand how their actions can affect someone, and that not everyone is the same, and that what you may not be suffering with, someone else might be.

The World Health Organisation recognises World Mental Health Day as the 10th October every year (Mental Health Foundation, 2017) as a day that provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide (World Health Organization, no date). On World Mental Health Day, Young Minds used #HelloYellow and asked people to wear yellow to show children and young people that they are not alone when it comes to their mental health (Young Minds, no date), this is a simple activity that schools could carry out on World Mental Health Day, with children paying a donation to a mental health charity and teachers using resources from charities like Young Minds to spread awareness to the pupils about mental health.

It is important to promote mental health in schools across the UK, with Wales starting pilot projects to help treat mental health from a young age. Donaldson’s ‘Successful Futures’ aims to aid further in the awareness of mental health and to give pupils a better understanding and the way you treat someone can affect their mental health. When teaching pupils about mental health and how to treat it, it is important that the teacher themselves has the training and understanding to handle the sensitive topic and how to notice symptoms of a mental health disorder in their pupils.

References:


BBC News. (2017). £1.4m mental health project to help school pupil, Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-41361491 (Accessed: March 2018).

Donaldson, G. (2015). Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government. Crown

Mental Health Foundation. (no date). What is mental health?, Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/your-mental-health/about-mental-health/what-mental-health (Accessed: March 2018).

Mental Health Foundation. (no date). World Mental Health Day, Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day (Accessed: March 2018).

Morris, S. (2017). Welsh schoolchildren to receive early help with mental health problems, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/25/wales-schoolchildren-receive-early-help-mental-health-problems (Accessed: March 2018).

Weal, S. (2017). Primary school teachers ‘not trained to deal with mental health issues’, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/21/primary-school-teachers-not-trained-to-deal-with-mental-health-issues (Accessed: March 2018).

World Health Organization. (no date). World Mental Health Day – 10 October, Available at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/en/ (Accessed: March 2018).

Young Minds. (2017). Mental Health Statistics, Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/mental-health-stats/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkd3VBRDzARIsAAdGzMDMzCsZLaY_zl4dtwY8Xjtr6puNYez8XLvBbLG0yaL8ykTVytbJQuMaAoyCEALw_wcB (Accessed: March 2018).

Young Minds. (no date). #HelloYellow, Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/get-involved/how-to-fundraise/helloyellow/ (Accessed: March 2018).

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