Conclusion

A healthy mental state is essential for all learners to thrive in school and in their daily lives. Positive mental well-being lies on a continuum along which individuals shift in relation to life stressors and biological and psychological factors. While these shifts occur at every stage of human development, children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to the detrimental effects of poor mental health as it can affect their social relationships at school, their identities, their academic progress and later life chances. Social and emotional learning programmes offered at the school level are effective at promoting positive mental health, but more important, are school staff who are knowledgeable about and responsive to students’ mental health states. At the individual level, teachers and guidance counsellors are best-placed to assist learners with recognising mental health as a priority.

This book, authored by post-graduates with a deep understanding and intimate experience of schools, gives school staff a handy reference for mental health challenges experienced by learners. Each chapter offered a range of ideas that can help school staff recognise each mental health challenge and intervene to support their learners. Each chapter can also be shared more broadly with families as a resource. The title of this book, Hearts and Minds, serves as a reminder that healthy minds require a commitment of helping hands and kind hearts that value and protect positive mental health. It is an essential human right, and is integral to strengthening our learners, schools and wider communities.