Schools play an important role in the holistic development of a child, including their mental well-being, by providing a safe and inclusive school environment. School teachers, administrators and parents are critical in supporting a child’s mental and emotional well-being. To support children, schools can provide lessons on the responsible use of the Internet, how to prevent or cope with health problems, and the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Some measures a school can take for the mental well-being of children are mentioned below.
Listen to their concerns
According to Unicef, children had to deal with stress, anxiety, isolation and grief following the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers should listen to the concerns of the students and show their receptiveness and empathy. To support the mental well-being of children returning to school after closures during the pandemic, teachers can offer students the opportunity of a one-to-one conversation to reconnect and discuss their concerns.
Reduce anxiety
Schools can take steps to reduce the anxiety of students about examinations and testing by introducing less stressful forms of assessment such as peer assessment. They could also encourage students to identify their own assessment needs.
Promote psychosocial competence
Schools can work towards developing a child’s own coping resources and competencies or their psychosocial competence. Psychosocial competence will help children deal with the demands and challenges of life more effectively. Schools can impart life skill education which aims to provide strategies to make healthy choices for a meaningful life.
Life skills will empower young people to face challenging situations. Schools can also introduce children to conflict management and approaches to harassment and bullying through peer mediation and restorative justice.
Provide mental health education
Schools should provide students with information about mental health and illness. Teachers could ensure that the content is relevant to student’s life by talking about well-being issues such as healthy eating, exercise, positive relationships and substance abuse.
Schools can also act as training centres for parents, providing them with the opportunity to learn more about child development and parent effectiveness skills.
Spread intercultural understanding
Schools can provide education for intercultural understanding through extra-curricular activities making children more aware and open to other cultures. Teachers can impart knowledge on religious education and improve their critical understanding of human rights in social science.
