Cultivating mental health literacy and creating caring school culture

     The epidemic over the past few years has brought unprecedented challenges to our society. When resuming their normal school and social lives, students may need some time to adapt to various changes and feel stressed in face of tests and examinations. To address these concerns, the Education Bureau (EDB) collaborates with schools, parents and various organisations to promote student mental health by adopting diverse and holistic approaches and building a robust safety net to ensure their happy and healthy growth.

Raising awareness through mental health literacy resource packages

     Mental health literacy refers to people’s recognition and awareness of mental illness and attitudes towards it as well as their competency to maintain and improve mental health. Studies have identified the lack of mental health literacy as one of the key factors inhibiting people from seeking help.

     To enhance students’ awareness of mental health and facilitate the promotion of mental well-being in schools, the EDB will launch the Mental Health Literacy Resource Packages for different key learning stages as announced in the Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address. These packages cover four major areas, namely “means to maintain good mental health”, “understanding mental illnesses and effective treatments”, “destigmatising help-seeking and people with mental illness”, and “encouraging peers to seek help when they have mental health needs”. We suggest schools to refer to these packages for a systematic approach to promoting student mental health literacy for the psychological well-being of students and their peers.

     The Mental Health Literacy (Key Stage 2) Resource Package (Chinese only) was uploaded to the “Mental Health@School” website (mentalhealth.edb.gov.hk/tc/promotion-at-the-universal-level/promotional-resources-for-schools/110.html) today (November 9 2023). The junior secondary package will be launched within this school year, and the junior primary and senior secondary packages will follow.

“Spread the Love, Care and Shine” Campaign to be launched this month

     To encourage students to care for themselves and others, and enhance their sense of well-being, the EDB has appealed to all schools in Hong Kong to roll out the “Spread the Love, Care and Shine” Campaign this month. Schools can make use of the references and activity resources provided by the EDB to organise various school-based and class-based student mental health promotion activities. The Campaign focuses on three aspects:

(1) Creating space for connectivity and interaction

        Schools are advised to thoroughly review students’ workload, school assessment practices as well as the durations of recess and lunch time, and provide students with more time for physical activities. This is to ensure sufficient time and space for students to rest, engage in activities that benefit their body and mind, and interact with their peers and teachers, which will in turn enhance their sense of connectedness, happiness and mental health.

(2) Caring for oneself and others

     We recommend that schools organise Mental Health Day(s), on which they can arrange activities to promote mental health, using resources available on the “Spread the Love, Care and Shine” Campaign designated webpage. Through these activities, teachers, parents and students will learn how to relax and care for their own physical and mental well-being. Schools can set up a Mental Health Corner or a Relaxation Room on campus to serve as a secure and calming space, where students can unwind and attend to their emotional needs. Furthermore, schools may encourage teachers and students to greet each other with heartwarming gestures, such as making heart shapes and support gestures, thereby showing care and support for one another. Schools may organise campaigns or design competitions to invite students to create their own “caring hand gestures”. Using these gestures regularly can foster a cosy atmosphere, in which students feel the warmth of being cared for, thereby promoting self-care and care for others.

(3) Creating positive climate by fostering unity in class

     Class teachers play a crucial role in students’ school life. To strengthen a sense of connectedness, we recommend more interaction and sharing between class teachers and their students, as well as more class-based activities. A close, trusting relationship with teachers will enable students to feel more comfortable expressing their feelings and be more willing to seek help. Class teachers may design various activities for every student and organise celebratory events to create collective memories. The EDB has produced “Spread the Love, Care and Shine” e-posters and small tips cards with information on self-care, emotion regulation and how to seek help. Class teachers can display these posters in classrooms, distribute the cards and explain the content to remind students to love and care about themselves and make it a habit. By making use the resources such as relaxation exercise video clips and mindful breathing video navigation available on the Campaign designated webpage, they may also do regular relaxation exercises with students during class teacher periods every day or regularly.

     For details of the “Spread the Love, Care and Shine” Campaign, please refer to EDB Circular Memorandum No. 209/2023 (applications.edb.gov.hk/circular/upload/EDBCM/EDBCM23209E.pdf) issued today and the Campaign designated webpage (Chinese only) (mentalhealth.edb.gov.hk/tc/promotion-at-the-universal-level/promotional-resources-for-schools/112.html).

Enhancing support with additional resources

     To enable schools to promote mental health more effectively and flexibly, the EDB will provide all publicly-funded primary and secondary schools (including special schools) with a “Mental Health@School One-off Grant” and a “One-off Grant for Mental Health of Parents and Students” this school year. With these two additional grants, schools and parent-teacher associations can organise activities such as stress management workshops and emotion regulation groups or purchase relevant services or materials to promote mental health among teachers, students and parents.

     Furthermore, to facilitate school personnel’s earlier identification of and support for students with mental health needs in schools, the EDB will launch a series of advanced workshops for teachers and school guidance personnel (such as social workers and school-based educational psychologists) this school year. These intensive workshops will focus on enhancing knowledge and skills related to supporting students with mental health needs.

Enabling early identification through parent education

     Family plays a crucial part in students’ development. As a parent’s mental status and mindset can impact their children’s mental health, it is important for parents to look after their own physical and mental health, and grasp parenting knowledge and skills. Adequate mental health literacy helps parents discern their children’s needs in a timely way and seek professional support accordingly.

     To enhance parental support for children, the EDB will conduct webinars for parents on 21 and 22 November 2023 and face-to-face parent talks on 9 December 2023 in collaboration with the Committee on Home-School Co-operation, the 18 District Federations of Parent-Teacher Associations and the regional School Heads Associations. Also, regular gatekeeper training will be conducted as part of our ongoing efforts to promote parent education.

Working together to safeguard students’ well-being

     Studies have shown that student mental health can be affected by multiple factors, including family issues and peer relationships. It calls for the concerted efforts from the education, healthcare and family services sectors to address student mental health concerns. To facilitate schools’ and parents’ access to available resources, we have compiled information on relevant services from different organisations. For a list of these services, please refer to the aforementioned circular memorandum and the “Mental Health@School” website.

     The EDB will continue to work together with all stakeholders to promote mental health among students, teachers and parents, with a shared goal of safeguarding students’ well-being.

 

The Education Bureau has produced the “Spread the Love, Care and Shine” e-poster that provides information on self-care, emotion regulation and how to seek help.


The Mental Health Literacy (Key Stage 2) Resource Package contains quotes on mental health to convey positive messages to students.


The Mental Health Literacy (Key Stage 2) Resource Package contains quotes on mental health to convey positive messages to students.

         
The Mental Health Literacy (Key Stage 2) Resource Package contains quotes on mental health to convey positive messages to students.


Promotional resources "Self-care Promotes Well-being" enable students to understand that they have the ability and means to enhance their own well-being through different self-care mini-activities.


Promotional resources "Self-care Promotes Well-being" enable students to understand that they have the ability and means to enhance their own well-being through different self-care mini-activities.

9 November 2023