Going To Be... Well-Trained
We’re calling on the Scottish Government to mark Year of Young People by creating a programme to train all school staff in mental health.
In August 2017 we surveyed school staff in Scotland to find out about their experiences of mental health training.
Over 3,000 responded – including teachers, classroom assistants, janitorial, catering and administrative staff.
The survey found that:
- 66% of teachers who responded to the survey did not feel they have received sufficient training in mental health to allow them to carry out their role.
- Only a third of respondents said their school had an effective way of responding to pupils experiencing mental health problems.
- Only one in 100 respondents recalled doing detailed work on mental health when they were student teachers.
Improving the self-esteem, resilience and wellbeing of all our young people must be a priority.
We want all school staff to feel confident and able to respond appropriately to a pupil raising concerns about their mental health.
Despite health and wellbeing being a core area of the Curriculum for Excellence alongside literacy and numeracy, commentary from school staff demonstrates that the focus is not equal. Yet unless young people are well, they can't learn.
The situation is urgent and school staff and pupils can’t wait any longer.
We’re calling on the Scottish Government to mark Year of Young People by creating a programme to train all school staff in mental health.
