CHILDREN’S MENTAL WELL-BEING PROGRAMME – Module 2 – High School

Introduction

Children’s mental health is essential for their healthy development and influences how they learn, build relationships and manage their emotions.

This guide is part of the EMBRACE Project – Empower and Build Resilience at Children, a project co- funded by the European Commission through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV – 2024 – CHILD). The project implementation period is 1 January 2025 – 30 June 2026.

The project coordinator is the Fundatia Serviciilor Sociale Bethany (FSSB), and the partners are: the Fundatia de Sprijin Comunitar (FSC, Bacău), the Asociatia “Bună Ziua, Copii din România“ (BZRO) (Bârlad, Vaslui), the Federatia Organizatiilor Neguvernamentale pentru Copil (FONPC (Bucharest) and Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL (Spain)

Associated partners include the County School Inspectorate (Iași, Vaslui), the Centre for Educational Resources and Support (Iași, Vaslui), the General Directorate for the Protection of Children’s Rights (Bacău), local authorities in the project’s implementation communities in the counties of Iași, Bacău and Vaslui, as well as 10 educational institutions within the project’s implementation area, specifically in the counties of Iași, Bacău and Vaslui.

Every day, three teenagers in Europe lose their lives due to mental health issues, and half of all mental health disorders in children and young people emerge before the age of 15. Romania lags significantly behind most other EU countries in terms of children’s well-being and quality of life, with several groups of children affected by serious social problems that negatively impact their mental health. In deprived areas, the incidence of mental health issues is even higher and access to services is very limited.

Through this guide, we aim to inspire and provide practical tools to support those who wish to incorporate techniques, practices, games and exercises into their work to develop resilience, social inclusion, empathy and compassion, to help maintain mental health and to find solutions that support children’s well-being.

The guide comprises five modules, each consisting of three working sessions, tailored to the high school level, providing a framework for learning and development aimed at preventing mental health issues in children. The topics covered in these educational modules are: ‘Physical health, the foundation of well-being’, ‘Cognitive well-being’, ‘I’m okay with my emotions’, ‘Inner well-being’ and ‘I’m socially well’. Each module is dedicated to one of the five competencies set out in the ‘Children’s Mental Well-being’ curriculum, which are to be developed in high school pupils over the course of a year.