This module will help educational leaders promote positive mental health and well-being. Participants will acquire essential notions and tools to facilitate prevention of mental illness in children and young people in schools. Participants will gain an understanding of the evidence of effective whole school mental health and be able to apply this to their role as educational leaders. They will learn how to recognise issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, frustrations, addictions, provocative behaviour and other social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in children so that they can take early steps to improve the mental health of children under their care. Following a constructivist-strategic approach, Educational leaders will be guided to apply effective interventions to build students resilience and nurture appropriate coping mechanisms. Participants will develop operative knowledge to provide an inclusive and enabling environment where every student’s mental health can be supported and strengthened. The course will adopt a whole systems approach to help improve mental health and wellbeing not only in students but also in school staff, since leadership can only be effective if staff well-being is catered for. Moreover, Educational Leaders should also take care of their own mental health and wellbeing since it is highly renown that their multi-tasking role renders them prone to stress and burn out. The World Health Organization defines positive mental health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Employees with good mental health will perform better in their work.” This module will help render participants reflective practitioners, increase awareness and self-awareness, and thus be able to confidently lead on best practice in the support and promotion of mental health and well-being across their school community. This module will cover topics such as promoting anti-stigma Mental Health Awareness: from descriptive to an operative awareness; Mental Health & Children’s difficulties; Social, Emotional and Behavioural difficulties; Emotional Intelligence: Self and others; and Stress Management.

By the end of this programme, participants should be able to: