School Trustees Were Updated on New Mental Health Initiatives in UCDSB Schools

Brockville – The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) will be implementing mandatory mental health literacy modules for grade 7 and 8 students as of January 1, 2024.

The Ministry of Education will require school boards to provide culturally responsive, evidence-informed student mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention services after January 1, 2024.

Superintendent of Student Wellness and Special Education Jennifer Perry and Mental Health Lead Lisa Livingston provided an overview to the Board of Trustees at a meeting this week of the mental health literacy modules that will be implemented and how the Ministry mandate builds on current school board practices.

Developing workshops to enhance mental health and wellness for students across the district are action items in the Director’s Work Plan that align with the overall goal to have 100 percent of students report that school is safe and inclusive and positively influences their mental health wellness and sense of belonging.

The UCDSB has heard from students that they want to learn about mental health. These mental health literacy modules are part of the health and physical education curriculum.

In a survey done, 31% of the students are comfortable asking for help with mental health, if they require mental health support. 64% said they want to learn more about mental health and wellness.

The reasons for prioritizing mental health learning found from the survey included:

• students want to learn about mental health in the classroom
• helps students develop skills that support positive mental health
• supports learning in other areas
• encourages conversations and helps students in need access support
• as caring adults in the lives of students, we want them to be well

The new mental health literacy learning will consist of three 40-minute modules per grade that are provided by the Ministry of Education to support the delivery of existing mental health literacy expectations within Strand D of the grade 7 and 8 HPE curriculum.

More information on the initiative here!