Priority 1: Student Mental Health and Well-Being
The HDSB is prioritizing mental health by ensuring students have the knowledge and understanding of their cognitive, spiritual, social, emotional and physical well-being. Students engage and participate in the planning of mental health activities to create a whole-school approach to mental health.
Key Action Items
- Educators are provided with classroom resources:
- Mental health literacy lessons (Grade 10 Civics)
- Media and digital literacy resources
- Bullying Response Protocol resources
- Executive functioning lessons/handbook
- Mental health promotion and literacy lessons
- Mental health awareness and help seeking learning session for Grade 7 and 8 students
- Students are provided with information and resources:
- Well-being cards are distributed to students
- Posters are placed in schools
- Social media campaign targeted at students
- Student information/tip sheets
- Student well-being information and resources on HDSB and school websites
- Youth engagement opportunities are provided to students:
- Networking, learning and resources for school youth well-being teams to plan and lead mental health promotion activities in their schools
- A Youth Advisory Council meets regularly to advise on the Mental Health Strategy and Yearly Action Plan
- Youth lead and provide a youth engagement learning session for educators
Priority 2: Mentally Healthy School and Classroom Environments
Staff understand the whole person approach to student well-being and use this approach to provide a mentally healthy environment. Educators provide inclusive, culturally relevant and responsive well-being practices and social emotional learning using an anti-racist approach.
Key Action Items
- Staff receive professional development learning and resources to enhance their awareness and support of student mental health and well-being. Sessions include:
- Suicide prevention and intervention and HDSB protocol
- Bullying response guidelines
- Mental health literacy lessons (Grade 10 Civics)
- Youth engagement
- Learning for Guidance Counsellors and Student Success teachers
- Selective Mutism
- For September 2024, school educators and Principals/Vice-Principals will be provided with a reference guide and resources to help educators recognize, approach and talk with students about a mental health concern. Information provided includes:
- One-Call Desk Reference
- Supporting Minds At a Glance
- 6Rs Guidance Counsellor Resource (Receive, Relax, Reframe, Redirect, Refer and Record)
- Talking with families about mental health
- Circle of Support
- In order to build principals’ leadership and capacity to support mental health, principals are taking part in mentoring and professional development.
Priority 3: Mental Health Support and Care
The HDSB provides students with access to a multi-tiered system of supports that are continuously reviewed and improved to ensure a high quality of mental health care is received. Parents/guardians, school staff, students and community agencies actively engage to create Circles of Support.
Key Action Items
- Educators, students, parents/guardians and administrators are aware of and work collaboratively to create Circles of Support for students. This process involves:
- Creation, implementation and use of meaningful parent communication guidelines in meetings.
- Community partnerships are developed.
- Pathways to internal and community well-being services, including referral criteria and process and service provisions are defined and communicated.
- Participation in Joint Community Planning Table to identify existing mental health services available to students and parents/guardians.
- Mental health and well-being information and resources are provided to students, staff and families on the Mental Health and Well-Being webpage of the HDSB website (hdsb.ca). Resources provided include parent/guardian-specific and student-specific support, information sessions, videos and information on school-based mental health supports.
- Measurement-based care is used by social workers and mental health psychologists.
- Clinical consultation services are provided, including:
- Mental health and addiction and psychiatric consultation
- Trauma-informed care
- Selective mutism care
- Nonsuicidal self-injury guidelines are updated and a protocol is developed.
- HDSB Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion Protocols are finalized and implemented.