Since 2011, we’ve worked alongside the Ministry of Education, English and French school districts and school authorities, and a number of provincial education and health organizations to develop a systematic and comprehensive approach to school mental health. 

Our mission, vision, and values 

Our mission

We work together with Ontario school districts to support student mental health. 

Our vision

Our vision is that with consistent access to identity-affirming, evidence-informed mental health information, supports and services – every Ontario student will: 

• know how to care for their own mental health in strength-based ways 
• consider and contribute to the wellness of others 
• know when, how and where to seek help when mental health problems arise, and 
• feel a strong sense of identity, belonging, wellness, confidence and hope even in challenging circumstances

Our values

School Mental Health Ontario is committed to providing services that are: 

• responsive 
• evidence-informed 
• implementation-sensitive 
• aligned 
• co-created with partners 
• scalable and sustainable 
• student and family-centred 
• inclusive and differentiated 

Our services, goals and impact 

Our services 

School Mental Health Ontario provides: 

• leadership and guidance about best practices in school mental health 
• implementation coaching 
• tailored, co-created mental health/substance use health promotion, prevention and early intervention programming and resources 
• role-specific mental health/substance use health literacy for students, parents/caregivers, educators, school staff and school/system leaders 
• expertise-level training for school mental health professionals in brief, evidence-informed protocols to address mild to moderate mental health and substance use health problems 
• opportunities and support for collaboration across sectors, communities, jurisdictions and disciplines to best serve students and their families 
• a platform for student voice and leadership in school mental health 

Our goals 

Through the range of implementation support services provided, we aim to enhance the quality, consistency, scalability and sustainability of mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention programming across Ontario schools and classrooms. 

Our impact 

School Mental Health Ontario uses several metrics to assess progress towards our stated goals. In addition to bi-weekly implementation rounds, learning and training evaluations and web analytics to track reach and uptake of resources, School Mental Health Ontario conducts an annual Board Mental Health and Addictions Scan that facilitates the monitoring of key benchmarks associated with best practices in system-wide school mental health. Board mental health leadership teams complete the scan in consultation with key partners within the board and community. Over the past decade of work, we have seen gains in service quality, consistency, scalability and sustainability. 

Quality and consistency 

There are many programs, speakers, resources, websites and materials related to child and youth mental health available to school boards. However, many of these products are proprietary in nature, costly, untested, misaligned with board action plans and needs and/or not designed for school use for the population of students served in Ontario. Further, with so many available products, in the absence of provincial guidance, different school boards might invest in a range of things, meaning that students in one area have access to things not available to students in other regions. School Mental Health Ontario helps to enhance quality and consistency in school mental health programming across the province through implementation coaching, decision support tools and made-in-Ontario resources. 

Quality indicators 

Data from the scan and via regular implementation rounds suggests that school boards are using decision support tools and coaching provided by School Mental Health Ontario to determine which programs and resources are used. This is associated with greater use of evidence-informed protocols and materials and the abandoning or avoidance of programs that are not rooted in research and/or are misaligned with the board strategy and the unique local needs of students served.  

Consistency indicators 

An audit of school board action plans in 2024-2025 showed significant alignment with the provincial school mental health strategy recommended by School Mental Health Ontario. This strategy contains nine core elements: 

• Eight of the elements were echoed in at least 97% of school board action plans.  
• One element, student engagement and leadership, was echoed in 92% of action plans.  

This data helps to show that, working together as a provincial community of practice, we are establishing coherence in school mental health supports and services across Ontario. 

Scalability and sustainability 

School mental health practice has traditionally suffered from programs or “pockets of excellence” that cannot be scaled or sustained because they rely on substantial ongoing funding, human resources and material costs. School Mental Health Ontario has curated and/or developed several programs and resources that are low-cost, evidence-informed and implementation-sensitive, meaning they can be easily scaled and sustained in the school setting. These programs and resources are tested in our Innovation and Scale-Up Lab for fit and feasibility before being rolled out province-wide. .  

Scalability indicators 

School Mental Health Ontario provides school boards with a number of user-friendly resources that are designed for Ontario classrooms. Web analytics show a steady increase in downloads of these materials over the past five years: 

• Over 49,000 downloads of School Mental Health Ontario materials in 2024-2025. 
• Growth to 30,000 members on the School Mental Health Ontario mailing list for latest updates and information. 
• Uptake and reach have been further facilitated through partnerships with provincial partners such as principal associations and teacher federations who cascade resources to their members through newsletters and social media.  
• Over 5,000 school/board staff participated in the 189 learning and training offerings provided in 2024-2025 directly, and reach was further extended as mental health leadership teams cascaded this learning within their boards.  
• Over 1,000 school mental health professionals have been trained in core protocols such as the Brief Intervention for School Clinicians (BRISC) – a brief evidence-informed intervention that uses techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing, and Suicide Risk Assessment and Management (SRAM).  
• Over 800 school mental health professionals were trained in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for substance use prevention in schools in 2025. 

Sustainability indicators 

Scan data over time reveals statistically significant progress in implementation of key foundations for effective school mental health practice over time (e.g., functioning mental health leadership team, senior administration commitment, three-year strategy and one-year action plan, suicide prevention, intervention and postvention protocols, impact monitoring, etc.). 

Research suggests that when these foundations are in place, it is more likely that mental health programming will be sustained over time. Gains were also detected for key strategy elements. For example, between 2022 and 2025, boards reported significant progress in building educator and school staff mental health literacy and supporting uptake of evidence-based protocols and measurement-based care among school mental health professionals.  

Find your mental health leader

Every Ontario school board has a mental health leader who can provide information about local services that may be available to you. You can find your mental health leader.

Find a community mental health resource

Schools are an important part of the mental health system of care, but some students and families may need additional support from community-based services. This page can help you find local mental health and substance use services for children, youth, and families across Ontario.

Find a community mental health resource