Mental Health and Wellbeing in Secondary Education A Practical Guide and Resource

As attitudes to mental health shift, schools are taking the wellbeing of their pupils much more seriously. All schools in England are required to provide lessons on health and wellbeing; in addition, most now have a mental health leadership role. Yet mental health is far more than the absence of illness—it also means having self-belief and the resilience to cope with stress and change. To teach such skills, staff must equip themselves and their workplaces with the procedures, understanding, and confidence needed to monitor mental health, share concepts effectively, and act appropriately if issues arise. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Secondary Education puts all the information they need at their fingertips—with guidance on creating a culture of wellbeing, warning signs to look out for, and overviews of how a range of common mental health and wellbeing problems can be identified and managed.

Dr LAURA MEEK is a Consultant Child Psychiatrist with York Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. She is interested in empowering young people to take charge of their mental health and has written articles for the Huffington Post and the Metro. She is the author of Be Your Own Superhero, published by Penguin in 2019 Dr SARAH JORDAN is a Clinical Psychologist with Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust, and has worked with children and families for 17 years. She currently works in CAMHS and private practice, specialising in assessment, diagnosis and interventions for children with autism. SARAH McKINLEY is a Deputy Head and SENCO at Danesgate Community, a specialist setting for pupils with SEMH needs in York. Her specialism is ADHD and she has led on mental health and wellbeing across the school and coordinated programmes for pupils and staff.

Foreword by Mark Richardson Introduction Part 1: Mental health, wellbeing and social and emotional learning 1. Setting the context 2. A whole school approach 3. Building Emotional Intelligence 4. Screen safety Part 3: Mental health presentations and conditions 5. Anxiety, Panic and OCD 6. Low mood and depression 7. Behaviours that challenge, anger and defiance 8. Attachment difficulties and trauma 9. Autism Spectrum Condition 10. Difficulties with attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and tics 11. Eating disorders 12. Psychosis Part 4: Broader issues 13. Substance misuse 14. Gender identity and sexuality 15. When a young person is admitted to a psychiatric hospital 16. Transitions Part 5: Resources 17. Lesson plans and resources 18. Glossary