Teachers need better training to help students with their mental health, Jigsaw research finds

Teachers, and other school staff, say they feel under pressure to deliver mental health supports to teenagers, a new study has found.

Researchers from Jigsaw, UCD and University of Galway, engaged with to over 350 school staff about their experiences addressing mental health in Irish schools.

They found that while teachers were generally positive towards mental health engagement in schools, many did not feel adequately prepared to deliver mental health supports.

Many school staff described feeling under pressure due to the increased demands to deliver mental health programmes, and it was impacting their own mental well-being.

Researchers identified a clear desire among staff for increased training in the area and have recommended that sufficient and appropriate training should be rolled out before staff deliver mental health promotion or supports.

Other recommendations include allowing more time for teachers to deliver programmes, clear policies and guidelines, as well as investment in mental health services, to reduce pressure on schools to care for students whilst they wait for support from mental health services.

 Jigsaw researcher Anna Blix said:

“What we learnt from this study is that school staff care deeply about their students, and that they are motivated to support them towards positive mental health. We found that there is a clear desire among staff for more training in this area, and that staff who haven’t been trained often feel overwhelmed and under pressure. To respond to this, we would love to more see mental health training for school staff developed through a co-design process, ensuring that training is engaging for staff and relevant to the Irish context.”