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Introduction
Schools are an important setting for mental health promotion to prevent mental health problems (Power et al., 2008), enhance quality of life, and contribute to the social and economic development of individuals, communities, and nations (WHO, 2000). Many mental health problems and disorders have a peak age onset in childhood or adolescence (McGorry et al., 2007). Thus mental illness prevention and mental health promotion interventions targeting young people (including school-based health promotion) can reduce socio-economic differences in mental health among adolescents (Nielsen, 2015) and are critical for improving adolescent mental health overall. Young people spend almost half their waking lives at school and their experiences and relationships at school can have a substantial impact on their wellbeing, influencing both behaviour and academic performance (Bourke, 2003). Furthermore, the second principle of the 2012 Perth Charter for the Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing states that, “the foundations of social and emotional wellbeing develop in early childhood and must be sustained throughout the lifespan” (Anwar McHenry and Donovan, 2013, p. 63).
This paper describes the development and implementation of the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework developed in 2010 by Mentally Healthy WA (Western Australia) in response to demand from schools to promote the community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion message within a school setting. The Mentally Healthy Schools Framework is based on the World Health Organisation’s Health Promoting Schools framework and encourages schools to adopt a whole-of-school approach to mental health promotion.
School mental health promotion
In recognition that schools are an ideal setting for promoting health to children and young people, Australia was one of the first countries to adopt the World Health Organisation guidelines for Health Promoting Schools. With a positive approach to wellbeing, the Health Promoting Schools model enables the development of targeted interventions and prevention within a universal approach to health promotion (Quirke, 2015). The Health Promoting Schools approach places mental health promotion within the context of a general education mandate, with all aspects of the school ethos, organisation, and environment placing an emphasis on how mental health promotion can contribute to the core business of the school (Paulus, 2009).
While the quality of evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Health Promoting Schools model is variable, it has been associated with reductions...