Supporting Mental Health In Local European Schools

<< Background >>The partnership applied for the SMILES project to address the urgent and growing mental health challenges faced by children, adolescents, and the broader educational community. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a significant rise in mental health issues, including stress, anxiety, and reduced emotional resilience, emphasizing the need for systemic intervention. Schools, as key environments for young people’s development lacked tools and strategies based on their needs to promote mental well-being effectively.SMILES aimed to create inclusive, mentally healthy school environments by equipping teachers, students, and parents with essential skills and resources. Teachers needed strategies to foster emotional resilience and detect mental health challenges at an early stage. Students required tools to manage emotions, build self-confidence, and strengthen peer connections. Parents needed guidance to better support their children at home. By adopting a holistic, collaborative approach, SMILES addressed these needs comprehensively, ensuring sustainable improvements in emotional well-being and mental health literacy for all of the three target groups. << Objectives >>SMILES project aimed to create school environments where the emotional and mental health of students is promoted, prioritized and protected. By addressing the essential connection between mental health and cognitive development, the project sought to enhance students’ overall well-being and academic performance.Our primary objective was to make schools inclusive and supportive environments where students could develop key emotional and mental health skills. This involved equipping teachers with the competencies to foster positive mental health practices, empowering students with tools to manage their emotions and build self-confidence, and engaging parents to emphasize these efforts at home.By involving these three key pillars: teachers, pupils, and parents SMILES project strived to foster collaboration within the educational community to reduce stigma around mental health, improve mental health literacy, and build a culture of mutual support.<< Implementation >>SMILES project implemented a wide range of holistic activities involving teachers, students and parents from Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland and Spain across the three main work packages to promote mental health in schools.In the beginning of the project’s activities, the partnership conducted national research to understand the real mental health needs of the three target groups. After that, national focus groups with experts were conducted to identify 12 key mental health skills. Based on the identified skills, a training system for teachers was developed to address the identified needs effectively in schools. In WP3, the focus on activities was on engagement of students and parents, who played essential roles for the development of a didactic toolkit and a guide for parents. National testing activities with students and collection of feedback from parents were implemented in each partner school. As part of WP4, a transnational learning, teaching, training activity was organised for empowering partnership staff to implement the SMILES methodology effectively. The practical implementation of alliances brought together teachers, students and and parents to take collective action in promoting mental health. << Results >>SMILES project produced concrete results aligned with its methodology: Learn it (WP2); Teach it (WP3); Live it up & Embed it (WP4). The main results of WP2 included the development of measurement tools designed to assess the real mental health needs of the three target groups: teachers, students and parents. Based on their needs, a training system for teachers consisting of 24 training modules on key socio-emotional competencies was developed equipping teachers with key skills and competencies to support mental health within the school environment.One of the main results of WP3 was a didactic toolkit to teach students essential mental health skills and knowledge. Another result - a guide for parents, providing practical strategies to support children’s mental health at home and foster collaboration between school and family environments.In WP4, an alliance at school program was created to unite teachers, students, and parents in taking collaborative actions to promote mental health and well-being, resulting in a culture of mutual support and inclusivity across the school community.