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Continuity, challenge and community in a time of change 

School Mental Health Ontario releases overview for 2022-2025 strategy  

Schools are an excellent place to promote student mental health, and to help to identify and intervene early when problems arise. School Mental Health Ontario (SMH-ON) works together with Ontario school districts to support student mental health. While there are many ways to support wellness at school, a comprehensive and systematic approach that prioritizes sustainable and scalable, evidence-informed practice helps to ensure that students across the province have access to the resources and services they need.

At this year’s Spring Provincial Mental Health Leadership Meeting, a preview of the 2022-2025 Strategy was unveiled, providing broad directions to the field and guiding supports to school boards in coming years. This comprehensive plan builds on foundations from almost a decade of work and deepens a focus in areas that require special attention as we move through the next phases of pandemic recovery and response. 

In the spirit of continuity, school boards will see a familiar multi-tiered system of support (tier 1, universal mental health promotion, tier 2 prevention and early intervention, tier 3, intensive support and service pathways) wrapping around every student. At the same time, the strategy is punctuated by particular points of focus designed specifically to address pandemic challenges and emerging needs. The plan has been informed by provincial and global data trends and consultations. Student priorities as highlighted in #HearNowON have been reflected throughout; at its heart, the strategy places value on collective caring, and wraparound supports for every student.

Image of SMH-ON 2022-2025 Strategy

SMH-ON 2022-2025 Strategy Graphic Long Description

Strategy

All school boards in Ontario have a 3-year mental health and addictions strategy, and a 1-year action plan, guiding supports and services related to student mental health.  Boards draw on the provincial strategy and action plan created by School Mental Health Ontario to inform their directions.  Schools create local priorities and support plans that align with the board strategy and are contextualized for the students and communities they serve.  The board mental health leadership team helps schools as they implement their action plan, through resources, training, coaching, and ongoing monitoring and support.

Following our longstanding multi-tiered AIM model, we will continue to focus on mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention guided by our collective use of implementation science as cornerstones of our work. Through the SMH-ON coaching model, identity-affirming interventions, and a focus on the implementation of mental health protocols and mental health promotion will provide school systems with sustainable supports and resources to wrap around every student in their learning environment

At tier 1, as always, there is a strong emphasis on the promotive and protective potential of the school environment. These efforts will centre on ensuring resources, knowledge, and supports reach every student, through enhanced communication and access to high-quality classroom friendly materials.  In addition, SMH-ON will seek to amplify the power of students as change-makers through this moment in time, creating additional spaces for leadership and engagement in mental health promotion and stigma reduction efforts, alongside adult allies. Heightened emphasis is also placed on connections with community, and with parents and caregivers, to recognize the vital need to wrap care around young people wherever they are, alongside natural helpers and supports.  In coming years, SMH-ON will seek to expand partnerships with public health, culture and faith organizations, and other community leaders, with a view to sharing resources and messaging so that students feel a strong sense of adult support and understanding.

At tier 2, the early work in building skills for early identification and support will be broadened and deepened so that student support professionals, early childhood educators, special educators, educational assistants, and guidance teachers will have more information and tools at their fingertips to recognize when students might be struggling and to provide needed assistance.  In addition, the suite of prevention and early intervention services will be expanded in coming years, to include access to more evidence-informed, identity-affirming prevention protocols that support students with substance use problems, eating and weight-related concerns, anxiety and mood problems.

Work at tier 3 will include a focus on Right Time, Right Care implementation, in addition to a number of other provincial and national collaborative projects designed to narrow gaps within the system of care so that young people who are experiencing mental health problems receive the help that they need in a timely manner.

At the centre of this work is a focus on equity and human rights.  That is, School Mental Health Ontario is committed to efforts to dismantle systems of oppression related to mental health service delivery, access, and outcomes, to engage with communities, to amplify youth voices, and to respond to identified needs with culturally responsive and identity affirming services and supports

Vision

Our vision is that with consistent access to identity-affirming, evidence-informed mental health information, supports and services – every Ontario student will:

  • know how to care for their own mental health in identity-affirming ways
  • consider and contribute to the wellness of others
  • seek help when mental health problems arise, and
  • feel a strong sense of identity, belonging, confidence and hope even in challenging circumstances  

Look for a more comprehensive overview of the SMH-ON 2022-2025 strategy and action plan in the months to come.