New NESET report on a whole-school approach to mental health and well-being in school across the EU

NESET is happy to present a new analytical report “A systemic, whole-school approach to mental health and well-being in schools in the EU”, prepared by Network member Carmel Cefai, Celeste Simões and Simona C.S. Caravita.

This analytical report is in response to the recognised need for schools in Europe to prioritise and actively promote the mental health and well-being of school children within safe and inclusive contexts. It finds that school-based interventions to promote students’ mental health and well-being are more likely to be effective if they are organized as a part of a systemic, whole-school approach.

The report provides a framework on how well-being and mental health in schools may be promoted through a systemic, whole-school approach, with illustrations of how this may be implemented in the curriculum, the classroom context and the whole-school ecology. The framework consists of three components:

• Key principles informing the framework;
• Key elements at classroom, school and intersectoral layers;
• Sustainability processes that support the whole-school approach.

As the existing evidence shows that mental health needs of children and young people across Europe are increasing and that mental health promotion in schools brings social, emotional and academic benefits to pupils, the report presents a set of recommendations for the effective promotion of mental health and well-being and the prevention of mental health difficulties in European educational systems.

Access the full report, executive summaries in English, French and German, and a summarising one-pager in our Library.