Why this is important

• The foundations are relevant for system leaders as directors and superintendents of education create the conditions at a board level that facilitate the uptake and widespread use of high-yield mentally healthy practices.
• The same foundations are equally relevant at a school level, as principals and vice-principals develop and sustain the conditions needed for the uptake of whole-school and class-wide mental health promotion programming.
• Reflecting on the foundations can help school administrators determine where to focus energy and resources to establish the climate and setting within which identity-affirming, evidence-informed mental health practices can thrive in their schools.

Leadership commitment: It starts with you

Leadership commitment is critical to aligning the school’s core work and ensuring quality, consistency, and sustainability in school mental health. The work of identity-affirming school mental health requires courageous leadership and the will to learn and do at the same time.

• This commitment to identity-affirming school mental health will foster positive learning environments for every student.
• When school administrators prioritize mental health and well-being, it sets the tone for others to follow suit. Educators and staff members feel valued for their work in this area and are encouraged to prioritize their students’ mental health needs.

Resources to support leadership commitment

Engagement and collaboration: It’s a team effort

Promoting identity-affirming student mental health requires collective effort. Engaging with those most involved, early and ongoing, helps to build shared ownership and leads to more impactful outcomes. Meaningful collaboration and engagement require humility, partnership, and an intentional effort to centre the voices, perspectives, and expertise of those historically marginalized and oppressed.

• Collaboration with students, parents/caregivers, and community partners helps to ensure that mental health initiatives that are selected and introduced are identity-affirming, relevant, and culturally responsive.
• Involving parents/caregivers and communities ensures that plans are comprehensive and that they consider the mental health and well-being of the whole child.
• Involving community partners can ensure coordinated approaches to mental health support for students.
• Students have much to offer and want to be involved in initiatives that promote mental health and reduce stigma, as highlighted in the #HearNowON report. They are especially well positioned to identify priority needs related to mental health knowledge and the required supports.
• Students affected by various forms of systemic oppression experience a range of adverse mental health outcomes (e.g., elevated rates of self-harm and suicidal behaviour, victims of violence and bullying, presence in correctional facilities) and have more difficulty accessing culturally responsive and identity-affirming preventive mental health services. Mentally healthy schools offer platforms for the perspectives of marginalized students, parents/caregivers, and communities to inform mental health supports and services.
• School staff are most influential in implementation, so their input is essential for effective uptake and sustainable practice.

Resources to support engagement and collaboration

Vision and strategy: Your path forward

All school boards in Ontario are required to have a three-year mental health and addictions strategy with a yearly action plan (as per PPM 169: Student Mental Health) that aligns with the Student Achievement Plan. Goals within the strategy focus on local mental health needs and priorities and often align with the provincial strategy through School Mental Health Ontario. This vision forms the foundation for delivering mental health promotion and services within schools.

• Schools are ideal places for mental health promotion, and the prevention and early intervention of mental health concerns. The work you do at your school to support student mental health should align with the board’s vision and strategy and is critical to the success of the strategy.
• The vision guides the development, implementation, and decision-making of mental health promotion, supports, and services in schools. School-level actions can be incorporated into your School Improvement Plan.

Resources to support vision and strategy

Infrastructure: Your coordinated system of support

In Ontario, every school board has a mental health leadership team consisting of the superintendent responsible for mental health, the mental health leader, and in many cases, a clinical managers or staff who provide psychology and social work services. The mental health leader is a regulated mental health professional responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of the board’s mental health and addictions strategy and action plan. They work with the rest of the team to select initiatives that support the mental health strategy and action plan, review related data, make key decisions, and monitor and communicate progress. In the same way, schools have, or can create a school-level leadership team to support coordinated decision-making and implementation of programming related to the promotion of mental health.

• A dedicated school mental health team with your leadership support is critical to ensuring that mental health and well-being are prioritized and embedded within the school culture.
• The school mental health team should consider participation from a range of professional staff with diverse lived experiences.
• Develop or access other established structures to ensure representation and voice from key stakeholders include students, staff, parents/caregivers, community partners.
• Look to the board’s three-year strategy and action plan for guidance on initiatives to align with your school goals.
• The board mental health leadership team may offer training and other opportunities to help you and your team continue to build your knowledge and skills in leading mentally healthy schools. Your school-level leadership team can contextualize this learning for school staff (e.g., adapt slides from the board mental health leadership team for use at a PD day for staff).

Resources to support infrastructure

Processes and protocols: Your guidance

In Ontario, every board is expected to have protocols and processes related to mental health supports and services (see PPM 169: Student Mental Health). Protocols provide documented guidance and system clarity in supporting student mental health promotion and the prevention and early intervention of mental health concerns. Processes support the dissemination, implementation, use, and monitoring of all mental health resources and practices.

• Protocols and processes are in place to ensure safe and responsible practices related to student mental health (e.g., suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention protocol).
• Service delivery model processes describe the roles and services available within the board to assist with mild-to-moderate student mental health concerns.
• Partnership protocols outline who can provide services within the school setting, what services they may offer, and how these should be delivered (see PPM 149).

Resources to support protocols and processes

Evidence and monitoring: Know it’s working

Reviewing and assessing needs, gaps, resources, initiatives, and capacity is an important part of the school planning process – you are already doing this work. It is important to inform mental health supports for students with data, and it is just as important to evaluate and monitor those supports to ensure their effectiveness.

• Implementation and outcome indicators, and measurement tools that inform needs and monitor uptake and effectiveness, are essential for making decisions related to supporting student mental health.
• Continuous quality improvement cycles with progress monitoring help in understanding the success of implementation.
• Mental health supports and services should be adjusted or changed if they are not meeting their intended goals.
• By carefully considering service access and satisfaction with supports, disparities in student experiences can be illuminated.

Resources to support evidence and monitoring

Internal and external communication: Let others know

Having clear and supportive communication across multiple channels with internal and external stakeholders about student mental health and well-being helps to build shared language and understanding. School administrators also share the responsibility of ensuring that the board’s mental health and addictions strategy and action plan is communicated to internal and external stakeholders.

• How school administrators view mental health and mental illnesses has an impact on all aspects of communication; therefore, it is important to examine assumptions and biases. Fact-based communication about mental health can build confidence and may reduce stigma.
• Communication helps to build trust. Lack of communication undermines it. Consistent, clear, and concise communication can help to foster relationships, build awareness, and, over time, support behavioural and attitudinal change.
• Effective internal and external communication builds a common language and understanding of mental health within the school community to support the widespread use of mentally healthy practices. It can help to eliminate confusion about roles within the system of care and to ensure that students, staff, and parents/caregivers know how to access support when needed.
• Regularly and effectively communicating your school’s plan to support student mental health can inspire and validate the efforts of parents/caregivers, staff, and students in support of these priorities.