Primary School Mental Health Program

by admin in Uncategorized

Child with painted hands

 

In light of this year’s annual INTO Congress, is it not evident that the insufficient and outdated mental health program “Friends for Life” currently on the curriculum is not meeting the emerging needs of our children?

Teachers have condemned the lack of mental health support for primary school students, as research shows that one in three children are likely to have experienced some type of mental health disorder by the age of 13. Delegates at the INTO Congress 2022 passed a motion yesterday calling for increased funding for children’s mental health services, in particular for on-site supports and counselling for primary students.

Primary teachers say the number of pupils with anxiety and mental health difficulties has soared since the pandemic disrupted children’s education.Dublin-based teacher Órlaith Ní Fhoghlúsaid a lack of early intervention means that young children with less serious issues may often present with more acute problems as older adolescents.

INTO President Joe McKeown said mental health problems among young people had been exacerbated by Covid.“Covid-19 has had an immeasurable impact on the lives of every child in the country, but it has especially affected children in receipt of additional supports,” he said.“Schools must be provided with appropriate professional supports and services for children presenting with mental health issues in a timely manner to meet their ongoing needs.”

We have the solution, an online, cost-effective, early intervention, evidence-based, eight module children’s mental wellbeing program. This program is for primary school teachers, it takes them approximately 3 hours to complete and has 65+ downloadable resources to design their own lesson plan and then teach the children in their classroom. The cost to deliver these essential early intervention skills, for as little as €2 per child. It has been beta tested by 85 teachers and the feedback is incredible.

We have modelled our program on early intervention is key. Please find below the modules for this program designed by:

 Michelle O Brien, BSc(Tons)Psych:H.Dip, Coun: MIAP

Module 1: How to Manage Anxiety in Children

Module 2: Understanding Root Causes of Anger in Children

Module 3: Promote Independent Thinking and Reduce Worry

Module 4: Enable Children to be Emotionally Intelligent and Mange their Feelings

Module 5: Accepting and Celebrating the Differences in Ourselves and Others

Module 6: How to Make a Difference, One Small act of Kindness at a Time

Module 7: How To bounce back and Learn From Past Experiences

Module 8: Fostering Friendships

After completing our program, children learn how positive qualities such as kindness and compassion feel in their bodies. We explore what exclusion feels like in our bodies – and we discuss how inclusion makes us feel. We teach kids to notice how others are feeling on the inside by the clues they give on the outside.

For More Information