Conference on mental health in education.

15 February 2019

Conference on mental health in education.

On Wednesday, February 13th, 2019 Dilwyn Roberts-Young, General Secretary of UCAC, attended a conference on mental health in education.

The conference was extremely successful with a number of specialists in their field considering the way schools deal with mental health. There were presentations from a number of speakers including academics and practitioners.

There was an emphasise in the conference on ensuring a balance between giving consideration to the health and well-being of pupils but also to the health and well-being of the teacher.

It is crucial that schools adopt a whole school approach to mental health which considers the pupil, teacher, support staff and indeed the whole community.

In considering the support for teachers, research showed how crucial the role of teachers is to pupils. However, we cannot expect teachers to ensure that support for pupils without training and access to support for themselves.

In an age which is target and result driven it’s easy to lose sight of the need to create a safe environment which places value on the individual and the importance of ensuring the individual’s place in a supportive, nurturing society

The challenge now is to learn from the experiences of the conference to work towards an education community in Wales which takes mental health seriously in the field of education and beyond.