In the media

Media contact

Media may contact Dani Rathwell, communications lead, at drathwell@smho-smso.ca.

Story ideas about school mental health

There are many local success stories in school mental health. It’s possible for media to connect those local stories to a broader topic. Here are some suggestions:

• Why schools need to avoid one-off or expensive mental health promotion programs and follow a systematic approach instead.
• Actionable and evidence-based advice on how parents can partner with schools to support their child’s mental health.
• What are social-emotional skills, and why do they matter so much?
• How to support your child’s social-emotional learning.
• Student-led mental health initiatives that are addressing local needs and helping to introduce students to a potential field of study.
• It’s not about not caring: the real reason why schools avoid assemblies or other large gatherings when a student dies by suicide.
• How to help children and youth with the transition to summer and then back to school.

Reach out to us if you’re looking for examples or ideas to help you with a story. We can also direct you to relevant research.

Facts and research about school mental health in Ontario

For information about the prevalence of mental health disorders and access to treatment for children and youth in Ontario, see the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.

For quick facts on mental health needs and support in Ontario schools, see the summary of school mental health survey results.

For detailed information on the role of educators in supporting student mental health, see the OCT professional advisory.

Read about our approach to school mental health in Ontario. For a detailed description of the theoretical approach, see the paper Intentional, explicit, systematic: Implementation and scale-up of effective practices for supporting student mental well- being in Ontario schools published in the International Journal of Mental Health Promotion.