Foster Well-Being and Mental Health

1.1 Build positive relationships with staff and students to promote feelings of mattering and belonging.

• Learning opportunities are available to build staff and educator capacity in promoting culturally relevant practices for student mental health and well-being with an emphasis on mattering and belonging.
• Everyday Mental Health practices are evident.
• Schools are beginning to use Leading Wellbeing in Schools YRDSB as a reflective practice tool.
• The SIPSA has a focus on promoting culturally relevant and responsive mental health and well-being practices.
• Educators and staff are intentionally using resources such as Supporting Minds: A Mental Health Resource Guide for Educators. The 2018-19 school year will focus on the Mentally Healthy Classroom Module (Supporting Minds).
• School Administrators and social workers participate in the Attendance Engagement and Management training.
  • Increased numbers of referrals to schools’ social work and attendance services for support and follow up.
  • Decreased number of students demitted from the school’s register.
• Learning opportunities are available that build staff capacity in understanding and supporting each other:
  • Reviewing, refining and promoting learning opportunities aimed at stigma reduction, creating a shared understanding of mental health, team building, and leader support.
  • Continue to support staff healthy workplace action plans​

1.2 Build a shared understanding of the organizational conditions necessary to support mental health and well-being of students and staff.

• The Student Well-Being Steering Committee will align the work of all 4 components of Well-Being (i.e., Positive Mental Health, Safe and Caring School, Inclusive Schools and Community Services, Healthy Schools).
• Develop and provide professional learning about mattering and belonging to administrators which includes the Everyday Mental Health practices.

• School leaders are engaged in resource mapping to identify the available supports related to mental health and well-being with a focus on being culturally relevant and responsive.
• After the completion of the resource mapping exercise, Student Services will identify opportunity gaps (e.g., gaps in culturally relevant resources, gaps in accessibility of resources, etc.) in addressing the mental health and well-being needs of students and staff.

• The executive summary of the survey has been communicated to the system to raise awareness of the importance of staff well-being.