Schools are coming under more and more pressure to address student mental health and wellbeing difficulties. There is widespread and growing concern over the poor mental health and wellbeing reported by young people in Ireland. This has led to a feeling that something has to be done – with schools increasingly viewed as a frontline response to this issue.
The sense of urgency is being driven by both the general public, who are seeing near-constant news reports about a mental health crisis in young people, and policymakers.
In response, the Department of Education and Youth has introduced several recent initiatives aimed at supporting mental health and wellbeing in Irish schools. One of these is the Neart programme at post-primary level – a partnership between the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and Jigsaw – and the counselling and mental health pilot scheme in primary schools.
At the same time, public debate continues about the causes of youth mental health difficulties.
READ MORE
Some of the measures that have been suggested – proposals to ban mobile phones in schools or to ban social media for people under 16 – are contentious. There has been criticism of existing universal school wellbeing programmes, and we know about the unacceptably long waiting times for access to child psychological assessment and care. Add to this concerns about the impact of AI on young people’s wellbeing, and the size of the challenge facing schools becomes all too apparent.
Against this backdrop, an important question arises: what can schools realistically do to support their students’ wellbeing and mental health? Can they do anything at all?
Our recent study explores this question by reviewing the evidence from Ireland and internationally.
A key starting point is to distinguish between “wellbeing” and “mental health”. Wellbeing refers to a state of human flourishing, positive emotion and self-actualisation. Mental health difficulties, on the other hand, involve specific symptoms and conditions, such as anxiety and depression. Research consistently shows that these are not simply opposite ends of the same spectrum. Individuals can report poor wellbeing without meeting the criteria for a mental health condition, or experience mental health difficulties while reporting otherwise positive wellbeing.
Despite this distinction, school policies and practices often attempt to address wellbeing and mental health simultaneously through a single set of interventions. This approach risks an inefficient use of time and resources and leaves teachers feeling ill-equipped to meet complex student needs. It may also mean some students do not receive the support they require. In some cases, it may even do more harm than good.
[ Are school wellbeing programmes doing more harm than good?Opens in new window ]
Clear boundaries are needed around the role of school staff in responding to students’ mental health needs. Central to this issue is the urgent need for improved access to specialist supports and professional services that extend beyond the expertise and capacity of school staff.
What schools can do, however, is to undertake significant and meaningful work to create an environment that promotes the wellbeing of the entire school community.
Our research shows that the most powerful contribution schools can make is to foster a culture in which all students feel they belong, that their voices are heard, their individuality is respected and their strengths are recognised and celebrated. This kind of culture is fundamentally rooted in relationships, beginning with how principals treat their staff and extending to how staff relate to students. This is then reflected in how students treat one another.
While strong school leadership is essential in enabling this, the greatest impact happens when students themselves are placed in the driving seat. A sense of ownership and meaningful participation in decision-making is closely linked with student belonging. There are few better opportunities to hand over responsibility than in the design and implementation of school wellbeing initiatives. The research shows that many wellbeing programmes fall short of making an impact because students rate them as “childish”, “irrelevant” or “boring”. Students are the experts on their own subjective wellbeing and should be central to decision-making around whole-school wellbeing efforts.
A school culture that promotes wellbeing is one that is built on foundations of equity, inclusion and diversity. Opportunities for student voice and leadership should not be limited to a select few, but must actively include marginalised and minority students within the school community. School wellbeing initiatives should focus on raising awareness of inequalities within schools, identifying inclusive practices and celebrating diversity. Evidence from other countries suggests this approach can be highly effective. In contrast, in Ireland, marginalised students consistently report feeling less connected, less safe, and less listened to in school, perpetuating gaps in wellbeing.
[ How schools can be crucial in nurturing children’s mental healthOpens in new window ]
The evidence supporting this relationship-based, community-driven approach to wellbeing promotion in school stands in contrast to the rapid growth in external programmes, speakers, workshops and resources now being marketed to schools. While such offerings may appear attractive for schools under pressure to demonstrate action on wellbeing, the evidence base underpinning many of these interventions is weak, if it exists at all.
Home-grown, student-led initiatives that foster wellbeing across the school community represent a far more promising and sustainable path. Ireland’s high level of school autonomy places the education system in a strong position to develop and implement this kind of approach. However, this autonomy is a double-edged sword: it places responsibility on schools to build the necessary skills, create time and space and take deliberate action in line with the evidence.
Schools are a frontline response to youth mental health. While this responsibility adds to the considerable pressures they already face, the cost of inaction is simply too high.
Dr Caoimhe Dempsey is a lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at UCC; Prof Selina McCoy is associate research professor, ESRI
