New EU Guidelines for policymakers and educators to improve wellbeing and mental health in education across Europe
New EU Guidelines
for policymakers and educators
to improve wellbeing and mental health
in education across Europe
The European Commission has published new guidelines on school wellbeing and mental health for policymakers, school leaders, teachers and educators, offering eleven recommendations and inspiring practices to assist them in implementing a comprehensive whole-system, whole school approach to wellbeing and mental health in education across Europe.
READ THE FACTSHEET
Wellbeing and mental health at school
Guidelines for education policymakers, school leaders, teachers and educators
Wellbeing in school, is crucial for improving academic outcomes, for the harmonious psychological development and positive social integration of the students, and for the motivation and performance of the teachers.
Via the Pathways to School Success initiative, the European Education Area promotes a systemic change to address mental health and wellbeing in schools and build positive learning environments for all learners.
European Commission: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Wellbeing and mental health at school – Guidelines for education policymakers, school leaders, teachers and educators, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/590
A whole-system, whole school approach
to wellbeing and mental health
Wellbeing requires an empathic pedagogical approach to teaching, within education systems that address equity, diversity, and multicultural understanding, while maintaining high academic quality and high expectations.
Furthermore, wellbeing extends to the quality of school life, learning environments, relationships among peers and teachers, and the empowerment of educators and students in decision-making, all while upholding educational excellence.
The Guidelines contain
eleven recommendations for policymakers,
school leaders, teachers and educators:
The guidelines on school wellbeing and mental health offer eleven recommendations and inspiring practices to assist policymakers, school leaders, teachers, and educators in implementing this comprehensive whole-system, whole school approach to wellbeing and mental health in education across Europe.
Read the full guidelines for school leaders, teachers and educators
Background
Recent findings on wellbeing at school
The PISA study from 2018 showed that:
- Pupils’ sense of belonging in schools is declining and bullying is pervasive
- Around 20% of European school children experience mental health problems during their school years, with half of those issues (mainly anxiety and depression) developing before age 14
- Teachers are also concerned: in Europe, 24% of teachers report that their job has a negative impact on their mental health, and 22% of them report the same in relation to their physical health
- Varying personal and contextual factors, such as socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, and disabilities, can contribute to a higher risk of underachievement and decreased wellbeing in schools.
Current challenges
In the European Union (EU), there are significant challenges hindering educational progress:
- Basic skills deficiency: 30% of 15-year-olds lack sufficient competences in mathematics and one in four under-perform in reading or science (OECD PISA survey, 2022)
- Early leaving: around 3.1 million young people in the EU have not completed their education and training (Eurostat, 2022)
- Safety at school: 1 in 10 students reported not feeling safe at school and 20% of students reported being bullied at least a few times a month
The results from the international PISA survey in 2022 reaffirmed that socioeconomic disadvantage continues to strongly influence children’s academic results in schools.
The report below analyzes the PISA 2022 results, focusing on the EU context.
- It shows a significant increase in the percentage of 15-year-olds lacking basic skills in mathematics, reading, and, to a lesser extent, science, compared to 2018.
- Meanwhile, fewer students reached high competence levels in mathematics and reading.
- Socioeconomic status remains a strong factor influencing performance.
- The decline in basic skills is partly attributed to COVID-19, though some countries were already experiencing a downward trend.
- This dual challenge of declining equity and excellence could impact the EU’s future competitiveness, especially compared to other advanced economies.
What are the current challenges?
Declining skills and mental health
The latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), show a worrying decline in basic skills and students’ exposure to bullying has been increasing.
Evidence from World Health Organisation reveals that adolescents today experience poorer mental health than previous generations.
Increase in bullying
Research has shown that bullying (including cyberbullying) is a widespread phenomenon with devastating consequences on learners’ health and academic achievement and increased risk of early school leaving.
Teachers at risk
There is also a noticeable decline in teacher wellbeing [pdf], with an increase in burnout and stress due to new challenges faced without adequate resources, training and support. This can have negative consequences on health, self-efficacy and teaching practices. These factors increase the likelihood of leaving the profession.
Engaging the whole school
The whole-school approach is one of the more effective ways to support the wellbeing of children and young people.
Strategies that use the whole-school approach acknowledge the schools, families and communities as interconnected entities of an ecosystem that impacts the learner. This means that decisions and actions can take place at multiple levels of this ecosystem, at the same time.
The whole-school approach also builds stronger cooperation between the school, the local community and a wide range of stakeholders, including:
-
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- municipalities
- health and welfare agencies
- youth organisations
- higher education institutions
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By engaging all parts of the school ecosystem, whole-school approaches can tackle to deal with complex issues that schools may not have the relevant expertise for. Often, these issues happen beyond the school grounds and may include:
-
-
- socioeconomic challenges
- cultural and racial discrimination
- trauma and adverse childhood experiences
- (cyber-) bullying and other forms of violence
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What is the European Education Area?
The European Education Area is an EU initiative to foster collaboration between Member States and stakeholders to build more resilient and inclusive national education systems.
At the EU level, the European Education Area promotes the development of a ‘whole-system, whole-school approach’ to address mental health and wellbeing in schools and build positive learning environments for all learners and their teachers.
Two main Commission initiatives support EU countries in developing this approach:
The whole-system, whole-school approach to wellbeing and mental health focuses on universal strategies for all children as a major goal of education. In addition, students at risk of, or experiencing, mental health issues benefit from targeted interventions, in collaboration with mental health professionals and family. The approach also underlines the importance of addressing the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and staff and their training needs. Implementation of such an approach in schools requires a comprehensive and coordinated effort across all levels of the education system (from policy and governance to individual schools, classrooms and students), and across policies (including health, social policies, migration, justice).
In 2022, the Ministries of education of the European Union adopted a Council recommendation on Pathways to School Success, supported by a handbook. The Recommendation aims to promote better educational outcomes for all learners, by lifting the performance of basic skills, reducing early leaving from education and training and promoting wellbeing at school.
The Recommendation proposes a new framework for action, describing a systemic approach to school success with some key enablers and a set of measures, to be implemented at system level and at school level.
Current challenges
In the European Union (EU), there are significant challenges hindering educational progress:
- Basic skills deficiency: 30% of 15-year-olds lack sufficient competences in mathematics and one in four under-perform in reading or science (OECD PISA survey, 2022)
- Early leaving: around 3.1 million young people in the EU have not completed their education and training (Eurostat, 2022)
- Safety at school: 1 in 10 students reported not feeling safe at school and 20% of students reported being bullied at least a few times a month
Socio-economic and cultural background continue to strongly affect pupils’ educational outcomes. Children with vulnerable background perform, on average, worse than their more privileged schoolmates. Additionally, there’s a concerning decline in pupils’ well-being, exacerbated by widespread bullying and cyber-bullying, impacting both development and educational achievement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has likely contributed to the performance drop observed between 2018 and 2022. It has certainly made these challenges even more visible and urgent.
Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success
The Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success, adopted in 2022, seeks to address these challenges.
Key recommendations for EU countries include:
- Systemic approach: simultaneously address underachievement in basic skills and early leaving from education and training, take action to promote students’ and teachers’ well-being, prevent bullying and favour a positive learning climate.
- Integrated and comprehensive strategies: develop or strengthen strategies that include prevention, intervention and compensation measures (but with a stronger emphasis on preventative actions) through all levels of school education.
- Attention for groups at risk: complement universal action with targeted and individualised provisions for learners requiring additional support in inclusive settings.
- Data collection: develop or improve data collection and monitoring systems at national, regional and local level.
Handbook on Pathways to School Success
Including details and evidence, and results from the public consultation
This staff working document supports the Commission’s proposal for a new Council Recommendation on “Pathways to School Success,” replacing the 2011 recommendation on reducing early school leaving. It provides detailed insights, research evidence, consultation findings, and good practice examples to underpin the proposal. Additionally, it serves as a practical guide for policymakers and stakeholders to understand school success issues and promote positive change across education systems in Europe.
Factsheet
Pathways to School Success
In 2022, the Ministries of education of the European Union adopted a Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success, supported by a handbook. The Recommendation aims to promote better educational outcomes for all learners, by lifting the performance of basic skills, reducing early leaving from education and training and promoting well-being at school.
Factsheet
Pathways to school success:
A new framework for action
Pathways to School Success proposes a new framework for action, which should inspire Member States when developing their strategies towards school success. The framework outlines some overarching conditions/key enablers for effective action and proposes a set of policy measures, to be implemented at system level and at school level to promote a whole-institution approach. It enumerates specific actions for supporting school leaders, teachers and trainers and other educational staff and conditions for learners’ success.
The European Commission expert group on
enhancing supportive learning environments for vulnerable learners
and for promoting wellbeing and mental health at school
has provided the guidelines for policymakers, school leaders, teachers and educators
to improve wellbeing and mental health in education across Europe
Expert group objectives
The European Commission has created an expert group focused on developing evidence-based policies to support learning environments and wellbeing in school at the European and national levels. The experts come from relevant backgrounds in the European educational landscape, such as academics, researchers, teachers and teachers’ trainers, and school psychologists.
The initiative aligns with the Commission’s goal of creating a European Education Area by 2025. It is closely tied to the Pathways to School Success initiative and the objectives and legacy of the 2022 European Year of Youth.
Promoting supportive learning environments and supporting well-being at school
NESET report:
The starting point of the European Commission expert working group
Network of Experts working on the Social dimension
of Education and Training (NESET)
Expert report on mental health and wellbeing in schools
The starting point of the Commission’s expert group
The starting point of the Commission’s expert group is a report about students’ wellbeing titled “A systemic, whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing in schools in the EU” and released by The Network of Experts working on the Social dimension of Education and Training (NESET). The report serves as a reaction to the urgent need for schools in Europe to place a high priority on students’ mental health and wellbeing in safe and inclusive environments. It offers a framework for boosting wellbeing and mental health using a whole-school strategy, including implementation in the curriculum, classroom, and school ecology.
The report reads (Pag 59):
Various social and emotional programmes have been developed, implemented and
evaluated over recent decades. In Europe, these have followed two trends: some countries have imported evidence-based programmes such as PATHS, Second Step or FRIENDS, while other countries have created and implemented their own programmes (Humphrey, 2018)
Any question?
email us at 📩 info@friends-project.eu
Are you a school member? Are you wishing to know more about the FRIENDS project and its next initiatives?
For further information
- Visit the FRIENDS website
- Follow us on the FRIENDS Facebook page
- For general inquiries, please contact: mirtacastellaro@yahoo.com
Quiet Time /TM Implementation coordinators contacts:
- For UK: Richard Johnson – richard.johnson@maharishifoundation.org.uk
- For Portugal: Paulo Cortereal – corte_real@live.com.pt
- For Belgium: Claudio Scubla – claudio.scubla@gmail.com
- For Italy: Rossano Maset – rossanomaset@gmail.com
- For other countries: Mirta Castellaro – mirtacastellaro@yahoo.com
About the project
FRIENDS: Fostering Resilience-Inclusive Education & Non-Discrimination in Schools is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme under the Key Action 3 Support for policy reforms – Social inclusion through education, training and youth.
Partners
The project partnership holds together:
- Coordinator: Fondazione Hallgarten Franchetti – Centro Studi Villa Montesca (Italy)
- Universidade do Algarve(Portugal)
- ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – Università di Bologna(Italy)
- CESIE (Italy)
- Escola Secundária de Loulé(Portugal)
- Municipality of Sacile – Pordenone(Italy)
- Maharishi School Trust Limited(United Kingdom)
- Maharishi Foundation(United Kingdom)
- APEJAA – Associacao de Pais e Encarregados de Educação da Escola Joao Afonsode Aveiro(Portugal)
- Cooperativa Cultural Ciencia e Tecnologia Vedica Maharishi – CCCT(Portugal)
- Associazione Meditazione Trascendentale Maharishi Italia(Italy)
- Civic Association for Communication and Education “Sophia”- ACCESOPHIA (Spain)
- Maharishi Institute of Vedic Science(Belgium)
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