Mental Health in Schools Working Group minutes: March 2026

Attendees and apologies

• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) (Chair)

• Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP)

• Association of Headteachers and Deputes Scotland (AHDS)

• Children in Scotland

• Connect

• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)

• Education Scotland

• Health and Wellbeing Unit, Scottish Government (Secretariat)

• Mental Health Directorate, Scottish Government

• Mental Health Foundation

• NHS Education for Scotland (NES)

• UNISON

Items and actions

Welcome and apologies

The Chair welcomed attendees and apologies were noted from Association of Directors in Scotland (ADES) and School Leaders Scotland (SLS).

Minutes from the previous meeting

Scottish Government (SG) provided an update on the actions from the previous meeting. The group were content to publish these.

Action:

SG to publish minutes on the SG website.

Professional learning resource

SG thanked members for their feedback on the resource. SG advised they are currently consulting relevant policy areas to review specific sections and updating broken links, and advised that Digital Bricks confirmed it is more efficient to take forward a single consolidated set of updates.

SG sought agreement from members on moving to an open access resource and the following points were made:

• having the ability to track engagement data on an open access resource would be useful
• consideration needs to be given to the structure of an open access resource as progress and completion of modules would not be saved
• calculating the time needed to complete each module would help participants plan time to complete them
• a guide on how to use the resource would be useful
• having the resource available as both open access and with login details would provide an option to save and record progress
• there was agreement on moving the resource to open access to increase engagement with consideration given to the points raised. SG agreed to take forward with Digital Bricks

SG also sought agreement on the approach to neurodiversity in the resource. Proposals were put forward for members to consider including adding slides recognising the role environmental factors have in risk, adding in a case study and signposting for key risk factors. The following points were made:

Members agreed with the proposals suggested and suggested some additional resources that could be included in the signposting section.

Members raised wider points such as ensuring staff wellbeing and additional wraparound support and supervision is considered in the context of suicide in Section 4 of the resource. It was also highlighted that BSI Standard BS30480 could be useful in how this subject is approached.

SG thanked the group for their comments and asked them to send any further comments on the resource by email.

Actions:

• SG to proceed with moving the resource to open access with Digital Bricks, raising the points mentioned by the group
• SG to draft a case study and draft slide on neurodiversity and circulate to the group
• ASPEP and COSLA to provide additional comments on the section on suicide in the online resource

Whole school approach framework

SG confirmed that they have reviewed the feedback from members on the Whole School Approach Framework (WSA) and shared themes. The group were in general agreement that the eight principles of the document were still sound. SG suggested that they update the context of the document first considering the main themes suggested by the group, which would then help inform updates in the principles sections. Group members were content with this.

COSLA then presented a paper designed to be an insert on suicide prevention in the WSA. Members made the following points:

• a core group of staff in each school with good capacity to work with local authority officers on this would be useful
• consideration should be given to resources, training and support available to staff
• it would be helpful to connect with wider policy landscapes to identify whether policy is already developed on this and if additional resources are needed

• the Curriculum Improvement Cycle (CIC) was highlighted as critical in this space. The mental health of children and young people needs to be aligned with progress in the CIC

• the reflection questions at the end could be more focussed
• caution needs to be taken over online case studies becoming outdated

Actions:

• SG to update the WSA and bring this to the next meeting for discussion
• COSLA to update the suicide prevention paper based on members feedback

Any other business

COSLA provided an update on the self-harm work. This is available on a new online platform and there are plans for peer support to be hosted by PENUMBRA. They will share this with the group.

SG highlighted a mental health resource on Parent Club: Supporting your teen’s mental health | Parent Club

The chair noted the next meeting of the group will take place on  Tuesday 2nd June 11:00 – 12:30.

The chair thanked members for their contribution and closed the meeting.