Well-Being: promoting mental health in schools

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factors which influence a child‟s well-being takeplace in the home, or broader society, there arefactors which can be developed in schools.Within the school system, programmes tend todeal with the following risk and protectivefactors: 21Box 1: Child well-being –protective and riskfactorsProtective factors• positive relationshipswith peers and teachers• feelings of positiveregard• participation in schooland communityactivities• opportunities and skillsfor achievement• opportunities and skillsfor communication• recognition ofcontribution andachievements• sense of securityRisk factors• absenteeism• alienation• bullying• disengagement• isolation• low academicachievement• violenceResearch shows that some of the most commonproblems which challenge students‟ well-beingare family dysfunction or other family problems,impulse control, other behavioural problems,22 23bullying, and stress/anxiety/depression.Schools as a setting for promoting positive mentalhealth: better practices and perspectives.21 http://www.rch.org.au/emplibrary/gatehouseproject/Gatehouse_Team_Guidelines.pdf22 http://www.intercamhs.org/files/Principals%20Survey%20-%20Germany%20(09-28-10).pdf23 Ainley, J., Withers, G., Underwood, C., Frigo, T.(2006). National Survey of Health and Well-BeingPromotion Policies and Practices in SecondarySchools: Report to the Australian Principals‟Associations Professional Development Council.School-based mental healthpromotionClarke and Barry (2010) 24 show that positivemental health promotion is best done in theearly years of a child‟s life, particularly from theages of 2-7 years. The WHO‟s Ottawa Charter(1986) refers to the importance of the school asa setting for mental health promotion. It has alsobeen found that there is a strong relationshipbetween health, classroom performance,participation and student attitudes. 25Health promotion is about realising people‟spotential to make them more resilient andinvolves building strengths, competencies andresources. This section will look at how mentalhealth promotion can be implemented withinschools.Best practice in school-based healthpromotionCharacteristics of successful mental healthpromotion programmes are: 26• good theoretical and research base;• clarifying key goals and objectives;• evaluation and high quality researchmethods;• infrastructural support from management;• programme fidelity, not re-invention; and• transferability between countries andcultures.Clarke and Barry (2010) show that programmeswhich adopt a whole-school approach areparticularly likely to lead to positive mentalhealth, social and educational outcomes. Ascited by the Joint Consortium for SchoolHealth 27 a systematic review carried out by24 Clarke, A.M. and Barry, M. (2010). An evaluation ofthe Zippy‟s Friends emotional wellbeing programmefor primary schools in Ireland25 http://www.healthpromotion.cywhs.sa.gov.au/Content.aspx?p=15426 Barry, M. (2007). Generic Principles of EffectiveMental Health Promotion. International Journal ofMental Health Promotion.27 JCSH. (2010).Schools as a setting for promoting6
Stewart-Brown (2006) on behalf of the WHO,revealed that school-based programmes areparticularly effective if implemented usingapproaches common to the WHO‟s HealthPromoting Schools approach. Box 2 providesmore detail on this approach.Box 2: WHO’s Health Promoting Schools 28Health promoting schoolsA Health Promoting School (HPS) is based onthe WHO Ottawa Charter. There are sixcomponents to this:Healthy school policiesPolicies which promote health and wellbeinge.g. healthy food practices; discourage bullying.The school’s physical environmentThe physical environment refers to buildingdesign, location, amenities; natural light; spacefor physical activity, facilities for learning,healthy eating.The school’s social environmentRelationships between staff and students,parents and the wider community.Individual health skills and action competencies.Skills and experiences enabling competencieswhich improve the health and well-being ofthemselves and others in their community.Community linksConnections between the school, students,families and key local groups and individuals.Health servicesLocal school-based or school-linked healthservices such as mental health services topromote students‟ social and emotionaldevelopment; to reduce barriers to intellectualdevelopment and learning and to improve socialinteractions for all students.positive mental health: better practices andperspectives.28 IUHPE (2009). Achieving Health PromotingSchools: Guidelines for Promoting Health in Schools.Accessed on 10 th February 2012 athttp://www.iuhpe.org/uploaded/Publications/Books_Reports/HPS_GuidelinesII_2009_English.pdfSpecific approaches to school-basedmental health programmesThere are three approaches to school-basedmental health programmes: 291. Universal Programmes - aim to improvethe mental health of the whole populationof children2. Targeted Programmes - aim to improvethe mental health of children atincreased risk of mental health problems3. Indicated Programmes - aimed atchildren who are already manifestingsigns of mental health problemsThis Spotlight will concentrate on UniversalProgrammes, in keeping with the view thatpromoting mental health is something whichrelates to everyone.Universal programmes include classbased/curriculum based skills (such as SocialPhysical and Health Education (SPHE) as wellas a whole–school approach. As the wholeschoolapproach is found to be more effective(more on effectiveness later) we look at this inmore detail.Whole-School ApproachThe whole-school approach is favoured by manyexperts in the field of mental health promotionas it involves students, staff, parents and issustained over time; factors which tend to makeintervention more successful. 30According to the International Union for HealthPromotion and Education (IUHPE) (2005) thewhole-school approach is sometimes referred toas „healthy school‟, „health promoting school‟,„universal‟, and „multi-systemic‟ but there is alack of agreement about what it means inpractice. 31The WHO (2000) has a four level whole-school29 Clarke, A.M. and Barry, M. (2010). An evaluation ofthe Zippy‟s Friends emotional wellbeing programmefor primary schools in Ireland30 Ibid.31 http://www.iuhpe.org/upload/File/PE_SH_05.pdf7
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