The government’s Mental Health in Education Action Group has committed to making mental health and wellbeing a central part of its plans for education in England moving forward.
The long-term commitment was agreed upon last month, with the group taking on feedback in order to improve the level of support offered to students suffering from mental health issues.
It was recently reported that mental health issues among students has become a growing concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, with education union Voice Community finding it to be the "single biggest concern" for staff at schools and early years centres.
"The mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people must remain a priority as we move forward into a new academic year, so that children can get on with their lives and their education in the best possible way," said children and families minister Vicky Ford.
Many schools around the UK have already been implementing plans to support students with mental health issues and raise general wellbeing.
One such example is Trewirgie Junior School in Cornwall, which has developed a wellbeing provision plan detailing the measures the school has implemented to support students.
Writing in the recent Education Edition of The Parliamentary Review, headteacher Jane Sargent explained in more detail how the school approaches topics such as mental health and acts in supports of its students.
"As a Trauma Informed School, we use the arts as a vehicle to support good mental health," she wrote.
"The school employs two wellbeing champions, one with a degree in mental health and the other a trained counsellor. Their extensive skills, combined with the school’s ethos and curriculum, enable our children to develop resilience and good self-esteem, essential for weathering the ups and downs in their lives."
The school has also developed a Learning to Learn framework, through which it has ensured a focus on two key themes, citizenship and perseverance.
The citizenship aspect focuses on pupils learning how speak out when something is not right with themselves or with a friend, while perseverance looks at building the skills required to overcome challenges.
"We have adapted our approaches and practice to enable us to spend a greater degree of time on wellbeing," Sargent added.
"Such changes include all children being able to experience, Art, Dance, Yoga, Music and PSHE across the school year.
"This will give children the opportunity to learn how to use these as an emotional outlet and, through these develop a range of strategies and approaches to enable them to develop and maintain good mental health and resilience."
