What should a school mental health policy include?
The essential sections
- Purpose and scope: who the policy covers (students, staff, families) and how it links to safeguarding.
- Roles: the mental health lead, the designated safeguarding lead, counsellors, tutors and every other adult.
- Recognising concerns: what early signs look like and how staff record them.
- Responding: what any adult should do in the first conversation.
- Referral and handover: internal steps, external services and timeframes.
- Confidentiality: what can stay private and what must always be shared.
- Working with parents: when and how families are involved.
- Training: who is trained, to what level, and how often.
- Review: a named owner and a review date.
Make it usable, not just compliant
The test of a policy is whether a new teacher could follow it on a difficult Tuesday afternoon. Keep a one-page flowchart alongside the full document and practise it in staff training.
International schools: check the local context
Referral routes, consent and data rules differ between countries. Make sure the policy reflects host-country services and law as well as your accreditation requirements.
3. Embed
Whole-School Capability
We run the audit, shape the strategy with your leadership team and support implementation, so mental health becomes part of how your school works rather than another initiative.
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