WA teachers struggle with students’ mental health as health and education fail to work together

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West Australian teachers feel unqualified and unprepared to help the growing number of students needing mental health support, and have slammed the Education and Health Departments for failing to work together to address the problem.

WA Principals Federation president Bevan Ripp said the departments should be formulating a response together to an issue which over the past 20 years had “grown exponentially and is showing no sights of slowing down.”

The mental health and wellbeing of students, particularly in high school, is of growing concern across the sector. Credit: Rodger Cummins

“So far there seems to be little coordination or plans from either department when it comes to working together,” he said.

“They need to figure out who is responsible for what and resource accordingly. It needs to be a sustained effort and it has to happen soon.

“Teachers don’t feel, and aren’t, qualified to address this issue and it is adding an incredible amount of stress to an already stressful job.”

State School Teachers Union WA president Matt Jarman said had been crying out for a coordinated “umbrella” approach to mental health.

“Schools are designing their own plans to help students, but there is no umbrella strategy which all schools are required to follow,” Jarman said.

“This is a significant worry. We have been calling for change but so far, there is no word on whether anything will be done.”

It was revealed on Tuesday that mental health, emotional wellbeing and suicide-related concerns account for 61 per cent of all calls to the Kids Helpline.

Virtual service manager Tony FitzGerald said this number showed the ongoing prevalence of emerging or existing mental health concerns among children and young people.

“Kids Helpline is only able to respond to two out of every five contacts and with more in depth and ongoing counselling required when they do get through, this places further pressure on us as service to respond,” he said.

An Education Department spokesman said supporting the mental health of students was complex and required engagement from service providers, parents, families, and the broader community.

“Schools have an important role to play in promoting wellbeing through connected, inclusive and culturally safe school communities, while supporting students through quality teaching,” he said.

“Schools have access to a range of services and support including professional learning, such as Youth Mental Health First Aid, and an online course to ensure staff are better equipped to support the mental health of students.”

He said schools also had access to chaplains and support workers, psychologists, social and emotional learning programs, and alternative learning arrangements where required.

A new online resource has also been developed for teachers, in the hope better education surrounding the issue will be part of the solution.

The ‘Curriculum Connection’ resource was developed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority with experts from Beyond Blue, Headspace, and the National Mental Health Commission.

Quick facts about the new resource

The mental health and wellbeing resource has been developed with the aim of equipping young Australians with an understanding of the importance of: 

• Connectedness and belonging.
• The ability to manage themselves and their interactions with others.
• Accessing reliable and timely information and services to manage health and safety.
• Engaging in health-enhancing behaviours such as healthy eating, physical activity and sleep.

ACARA has provided further guidance to teachers with changes to the mental health and wellbeing focus area description and curriculum content, which now includes explicit references to grief and loss.

It is aimed at helping teachers be better equipped to teach students about mental health and wellbeing across multiple learning areas.

Authority chief-executive David de Carvalho said the past few years in particular had been challenging for young people, with bushfires, flooding and the pandemic impacting learning and mental health.

“In addition, the widespread use of so-called ‘smartphones’ among young people has its downsides, contributing to cyber-bullying and social-media-induced anxiety about self-image, particularly among teenage girls,” he said.

“It’s important now more than ever before that we equip our teachers with the resources they need to teach mental health and wellbeing using the new Australian curriculum.

“It will mean our young people can develop the skills they need to look after themselves and each other.”

A 2023 Beyond Blue survey of 2369 school teachers across Australia asked them to pick the top three major health issues facing their students.

The results found the vast majority – 84 per cent – believed poor mental health was the biggest problem.

Be You, a national mental health and wellbeing initiative for schools and educators, led by Beyond Blue, worked closely with the Authority to develop the new curriculum.

Geri Sumpter said they had developed practical tools and resources to help students and also better equip teachers and educators on what to look for and how to support their students.

“Teachers are telling us the mental health of their students is one of their biggest concerns. It’s been a tough few years which has exacerbated stresses and worries for many,” she said.

“It is now more important than ever to make mental health just as important as physical health in schools. It is intrinsically linked to doing well at school, and we need to do the best by students and teachers to ensure healthy and resilient learning communities.”

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