TeachME Professional Development

1. Research demonstrates that a child's emotional health and well-being influences their cognitive development and learning, their physical and social health, and their mental wellness in adulthood, and the school environment is a prime location to promote such well-being.

2. The purpose of a whole-school approach is to move beyond learning and teaching to pervade all aspects of the life of a school, and this type of strategy has been found to be effective in bringing about and sustaining health benefits.

3. The fundamental principles that promote emotional and social health in schools include each of the following EXCEPT:

4. The priority of primary education providers must be to foster an ethos and environment that promotes mutual respect, along with encouraging self-worth, efficacy, and honest communication.

5. Students are more likely to engage in lessons that focus on emotional wellbeing if they are engaging, flexible, and enable them to think critically, regardless of the subject matter.

6. Involving students in schoolwide decision-making can help them gain belief in their own capabilities, develop their independence, and to collectively:

7. Promoting staff wellness is an integral principle of a favorable whole school approach, and teaching and learning environments can demonstrate a commitment to staff by providing opportunities for assessing the emotional well-being of staff, by encouraging staff to take actions to enhance their own well-being, and by promoting a work-life balance for staff.

8. Assessing and responding to the emotional health and well-being needs of children and learners, and taking steps to mitigate the impact this has on their capacity to learn could help provide supportive evidence in relation to:

9. Strong evidence indicates that well implemented universal and targeted interventions supporting parenting and family life that offer a combination of emotional, parental, and practical life circumstances have the potential to yield social as well as economic benefits.

10. Family members living in disadvantaged circumstances may be encouraged to fully participate in school activities or parenting sessions if they are offered flexible times, help with transportation, childcare, and:

11. Delays in identifying and meeting emotional well-being and mental health needs can have far reaching effects on all aspects of children and young people's lives, including their chances of reaching their potential and leading happy and healthy lives as adults.

12. Children at risk of social, emotional, and behavior problems should be supported with a "targeted/solution-based" approach that begins with a prevention plan.