Across the world, there is a rise in children and young people suffering from mental health challenges. The World Health Organisation says “the need for action on mental health is indisputable and urgent”. This is a major problem for existing healthcare providers, who are struggling to cope with the influx of new young patients seeking their expertise.

The result is long waiting lists, which means that children’s health gets worse while they wait, as well as increased worry for parents, as well as overworked health staff who know they are not providing the support that is needed.

This picture is sadly true in many countries around the world. These same countries also come to the same conclusion that to get a grip on this problem, there is a need to look downstream – to prevent problems from escalating in the first place and to ensure that early support exists for all children.

This is why the WHO global strategy for mental health has a key objective of implementing strategies for the promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental ill-health. Many governments, such as those in the UK, Australia and Canada, among others, are developing a new area of work: the ‘school mental health workforce’.

This is where much of the energy is going when it comes to the urgent need of addressing the growing mental health challenges faced by young people. A focus on the role of the school ensures that mental health support exists in a setting that is accessed by nearly all children, where there are already established links with parents, and where early support can be offered by staff who know the children and young people well.

The plan is to have appropriate mental health support in the school. This takes some of the pressure off the stretched mental health services, and ensures that those with lower levels of needs are also supported. These children would otherwise be left without any support at all.

Good mental health is embedded within the school

For example, in England, each school is encouraged to have a trained mental health lead who can oversee the mental health strategy for their school. This mental health lead ensures that mental health is part of the curriculum, so that mental health is taught, just as other aspects of health. They also build good links with parents and students, as well as liaise with mental health agencies. This is part of what is called the ‘whole school approach to mental health’ – the national framework that schools are working towards, so that good mental health is embedded within the school.

Leadership is key to this – it calls on national leaders in government, as well as leaders in school, to consider what could work and to put in place a basic structure to get things started. In England, for example, this is being funded by the Department for Education through a training grant for each school and a national quality assurance body to ensure that the training is effective for schools to access.

I set up my charitable social enterprise, Minds Ahead, so that high-quality training, school mental health qualifications and professional learning exist in the UK. We have done this in the UK since 2017, where we have worked with partners, such as Leeds Beckett University, to design and deliver innovative and highly popular services such as master’s programmes in school mental health practice.

We have found that working collaboratively with school leaders, policymakers and other experts is the way to bring about sustained change. This is why Minds Ahead is working with Mater Boni Consillii St Joseph, Paola, led by Kenneth Vella, to bring such knowledge and opportunities to Malta.

Bringing about this step-change to mental health support will take time, but this strategic approach is the right way to go: working collaboratively, having a framework and/or guidance for schools to follow, along with high-quality training for identified leaders of mental health in each school, gets this important process started. It is holistic in nature and it positions mental health as a national issue, relevant to all of those who care for young people.

The first step is sometimes the hardest, yet the path to follow is clear. National leadership, a solid framework for implementation, and school mental health leaders in every school. Now all we have to do is get started.

Dean Johnstone is CEO of Minds Ahead.