Positive Mental Health – A Whole School Approach
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-09-2019-086 |
| Published date | 05 September 2019 |
| Pages | 206-207 |
| Date | 05 September 2019 |
| Author | Julian Ashton |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
Jonathan Glazzard and Rachel Bostwick
Critical Publishing
Positive Mental Health Series
Review DOI
10.1108/JPMH-09-2019-086
A“Whole School Approach”has various
meanings; althoug h it is not specified
exactly what the authors mean, the
Introduction sets out the main theme,
namely mental heal th in schools (primary and
secondary). Some readers may understand
“Whole School”as including a wide range of
outdoor activiti es, including tho se focussing
on nature.
The book is written for teachers, which does
not seem to embrace most concepts of a
“Whole School Approach”. However,
perhaps 120 pages are not enough to
address other members of the school
community. Parents and pupils/students are
central to most of the chapters, but there is
very little mention of support staff; the school
nurse is referred to only a few times. There is
recurrent theme around teachers’roles and
school organisation.
Chapter 1 outline s “common needs which
you may notice in primary schools”(Conduct
Disorder, Anxiety and Attachment Dis order)
and in secondary sc hools (Depression ,
Self-harm and Eati ng disorders). I did not find
the latter three areas dealt with in a
satisfactory way . The ten lines on
Depression, incl uding symptoms such as
loss of appetite and withdrawal, als o offer
“physical activity, social activity and a healthy
diet”–if only it were that simple! The same is
echoed in the 30 lines on Eating Disorders;
although mostly in perspective, it c oncludes
“the science curriculum will introduce
children to the importance of a healthy
balanced diet”.Thisisasusefulasahealth
and safety talk on knives to prevent
Self-harm. Self-harm is given 15 lines. It is
recommended that teachers are “observant,
and listen to childr en, so as to be aware of
their problems”. Another part of the
approach, which comes up several times in
the book, is adminis tering psychome tric
questionnaires , once a term. For a primary
school examples are a “Resilience Survey”
and a “Feelings Survey”. Th e idea is to, in
some cases, identify children with specific
needs and also as a monitor of the wider
state of mental health.
The authors point out that there is no national
curriculum framework for mental health, and
that “schools should use this as an
opportunity”. I would add that, for the child,
mental health problems may be the hardest
thing they have ever faced, but they can be an
opportunity for moving forward. Looking up
“stigma”in the index, the only section
referred to deals with stigma towards parents
with problems. Children’s stigma does,
however, come top of a list of reasons why
they do not ask for help. This is the
recommendation for tackling stigma (from
Chapter 3, Targeted Interventions):
[…] teaching students that […] e.g. it is OK
not to be OK; mental health can fluctuate
and is shaped by our interactions with
others; everyone has mental health.
Also suggested are interventions, such as
termly one-to-one well-being conversations.
There are results showing that educative
methods are effective (Kosyluk et al., 2016).
Educative methods would include, e.g.
presentations to dispel myths about mental
illness with facts. However, a more interactive
and sustained programme is likely to promote
a better understanding (Fukuo et al., 2019)
With regard to cyberbullying, the authors
suggest developing digital resilience (there
does not appear to be any guidance on this)
and education about the potential impact.
This could often be a case of shutting the
proverbial stable door.
Each chapter is structured like a well-planned
lesson, starting with “Chapter Objectives”,
with “Critical Questions”for the reader and
ending with a checklist of what the chapter
covered. This makes it user friendly,
particularly if you are a teacher. The book is
readable, but I would sum up by saying that
by focussing so much on the teacher’s point
of view, it neglects that of others in the school
community. However, it can help “teachers
Positive Mental
Health –A Whole
School Approach
PAGE206
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH
j
VOL. 18 NO. 3 2019, pp. 206-208, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729
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