Education Bureau launches “Mental Health @ School” website on student mental health (with photo)
​The Education Bureau (EDB) issued a letter to all public primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong today (August 23) to introduce its newly launched one-stop student mental health information website, "Mental Health @ School" (mentalhealth.edb.gov.hk). Schools are encouraged to continue providing appropriate activities directed at three levels, namely Universal, Selective and Indicated, to promote mental health among students and strengthen support for students with mental health needs in the new school year.
A spokesman for the EDB said, "The EDB is very concerned about providing support for students' learning and addressing their emotional needs. Amid the COVID-19 epidemic, we have continued to work with schools to help students sustain development and enhance resistance under the threat of disease. We hope that the 'Mental Health @ School' website will further enable teachers, students, parents, and other members of the community to identify appropriate resources and strategies for taking care of students' mental health in different ways, so as to create a caring environment where students can fully enjoy school life."
The "Mental Health @ School" website provides diversified information on promoting mental health among students, with quick links to focus items and frequently used resources or guidelines on its homepage. The content will be updated regularly to ensure that the latest information is available to the public. A quotation under the theme of "Start the day full of energy" is displayed on the homepage to disseminate positive messages. With the infusion of such positive energy into the campus, it is hoped that students will find each school day inspiring.
The spokesman pointed out that the EDB has always encouraged schools to adopt the Whole School Approach directed at the three levels of Universal, Selective and Indicated to promote mental health among students and strengthen support for students with mental health needs. On the "Mental Health @ School" website, there are dedicated pages with comprehensive content on each of these three levels.
The "Promotion at the Universal Level" page aims to promote understanding of mental health among stakeholders in schools, discourage stigmatisation that results in resistance to seeking help, and strengthen students' resilience and mental health. The page provides resources for schools, students and parents, including short psycho-educational videos, feature articles, e-posters, e-pamphlets, teaching kits, etc.
The "Early Identification at the Selective Level" and "Support at the Indicated Level" pages consist of information on early identification of students in need and provision of support for students with mental illness respectively. When engaged in related work, teachers are advised to refer to the handbooks and reports available there, such as "Guidelines on How Schools Can Help Students with Mental Health Problems".
The spokesman added that in order to increase teachers' professional knowledge about mental health, the EDB has provided a structured professional development programme on mental health for primary and secondary school teachers, while related thematic seminars are conducted for teachers from time to time. Information and handouts of these activities have been uploaded onto the "Professional Development of Teachers" page of the website.
Furthermore, the EDB provides schools with support programmes, such as the "Peer Power – Student Gatekeeper Training Programme" and "Student Mental Health Support Scheme". The latter is operated in collaboration with the Food and Health Bureau, Hospital Authority and Social Welfare Department. More details are available on the "Support Programmes" page of the website.
