**** CNS Media Release
More Mental Health and Wellness Resources for Schools
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The Province is enhancing mental health and well-being supports for staff and students in Nova Scotia schools.
A new mental health and wellness grant and additional online resources provided through a $200,000 investment build on the important resources already in place. Each school in the province will receive the grant, worth about $500.
These mental health and well-being resources complement the work underway and available in schools, including:
— an online classroom-ready resource for teachers about mental health
— an annual investment of $2 million for the Healthy Schools Fund, which provides more than $5,000 per school for programs and activities that support mental and physical health or cultural awareness
— the creation of 70 new school counsellor positions and 19 new school psychologist positions over the past five years
— more than 1,000 new positions within the inclusive education field over the past five years to support students and teachers
— a secure virtual platform purchased in 2020 that has extended the reach of available services to students and families; there are 1,000 licences currently allocated to specialists within the system.
The resources are part of a virtual mental health and well-being directory that will enhance professional development for all teachers and staff across the province.
“Mental health and wellness resources are important tools for overall well-being,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Becky Druhan. “These resources and training will provide teachers with deeper insight and knowledge relating to mental health when interacting daily with their students.”
The funding can be used to purchase books and digital learning opportunities for students, cover speaker fees, or to help teachers to further develop their mental health literacy through new training courses.
Some of the online resources in the mental health and well-being directory include:
— Nurturing Well-being within African Nova Scotian Students: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/acs/files-acs/docs/nuturingwell-beingandwellnessinansblackstudentsen2021-11-09.pdf
— Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence: https://novascotia.ca/coms/svs/docs/Supporting_Survivors_Training_Flyer.pdf
— Early Detection and Considerations for Students who are Affected by an Eating Disorder in the School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jcarITIgmU&t=2076s
— Kids Help Phone: https://kidshelpphone.ca/
— Is cannabis safe to use? Facts for youth aged 13-17 years: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/drugs-health-products/is-cannabis-safe-use-facts-youth.html
Quotes:
“We know the important role that schools and teachers play in our communities and in the lives of our children. These grants and online resources will give teachers the tools they need to promote positive mental wellness in the classroom and better support the mental health of their students.”
– Brian Comer, Minister responsible for the Office of Addictions and Mental Health
Quick Facts:
— funding will be provided to regional centres for education and Conseil scolaire acadien provincial to be allocated to every school
Additional Resources:
Mental Health Literacy for Educators: https://www.teachmentalhealth.org
