Mental health and wellbeing: whole school approach: framework

C. A Whole school approach

There is a growing evidence base that schools need to take a whole school approach in order to promote mental health effectively. A whole school approach is preventative, universal and includes targeted interventions to ensure that all members of a school community can flourish and sustain a state of being mentally healthy. Taking a whole school approach can also achieve positive outcomes such as helping to reduce stigma and discrimination for those seeking help; support early intervention; promote positive mental health for all and improve the capacity of specialist services by providing support to those who need it at a universal and targeted level.

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CfE

Successful Learners

Confident Individuals

Responsible Citizens

Effective Contributors

Children and Young People

Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing

Whole School Approach

What is a WSA?

• Collegiate leadership and management
• Collegiate ethos and environment
• Effective curriculum and learning and teaching
• CYP voices and participation
• Staff professional learning and Development
• Identifying need and monitoring impact
• Parents, carers and wider community engagement
• Targeted support

Why do schools need a WSA?

• Strengthens CYP wellbeing
• Strengthens staff wellbeing
• Promotes positive relationships and behaviour
• Builds and strengthens resilience
• Supports positive school ethos
• Supports young peoples’ positive destinations
• Helps to reduce stigma and discrimination
• Supports early intervention and prevention

What can help design a WSA?

• Leadership and management
• Collegiate decision making
• Staff professional learning
• Ethos and environment
• Effective curriculum with personalisation and choice
• Engagement with CYP, parents and carers
• Staff wellbeing and development
• Identifying need and monitoring impact

How can a school evaluate their WSA?

• HGIOS4
• Applying Nuture as a Whole School approach — evaluation
• Measurement of wellbeing indicators
• Regular self evaluation
• Pupil views
• Staff views
• Family/carers views

A whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing needs strong leadership to ensure that it can be taken forward across the whole school community. Other key factors include:

• using a holistic model of health;
• being proactive rather than reactive;
• focusing on ethos, relationships, policies and pedagogy;
• taking account of the wider contextual determinants of mental health and wellbeing;
• involving parents/carers and wider community partners;
• focusing on processes and not just programmes; and
• developing skills in both staff and children, young people and parents.

Whole school approaches will: develop all staff's understanding and support skills in mental health and wellbeing (including leadership and management); develop resilience and mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing in children and young people; help engage with and improve the capacity of parents and caregivers to understand and support mental health and wellbeing, and, work towards removing stigma and discrimination. A whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing also links well with whole school relationship-based and nurturing approaches, is trauma-informed and strengths-based.