Achtsame Schulen!

With this project, we wanted to qualify teachers to better reach and support students with special psychosocial development risks. In order to achieve this goal, training courses for teachers were...

With this project, we wanted to qualify teachers to better reach and support students with special psychosocial development risks. In order to achieve this goal, training courses for teachers were held to contribute to the development of a mindful school culture. Four sub-goals were defined in detail: - Improving information on mental health among teachers and students - Information on resilience development and self-care - Reduction of stigmatization and exclusion of students with special risks. - Development of a continuous offer for all concerned and interested students.

At three locations (Berlin, Barcelona and Reykjavik), one partner institution worked together with a hotspot school. At the beginning of the project, suitable and interested schools were canvassed and selected. At each of the sites, cooperation was established with a school - represented by the school management and a core team formed at the school as part of the project. The participating schools were: Berlin: Gemeinschaftsschule Grüner Campus, Lichtenberg in cooperation with the partner institution FAN e. V. Reykjavik: XY in cooperation with the partner institution Gedhjalp Barcelona: XY in cooperation with Fundacio Orienta At each of the locations, an event was held with the entire school staff (>70 participants in each case) and a subsequent qualification of the core team consisting of 4-6 school actors (teachers, pedagogical staff, school social pedagogues). All core teams were provided with teaching materials in the respective national language so that they could implement teaching units on the topic of mental illness and related resilience factors in the classroom. All schools took steps to make the programs permanent.

The teachers benefited from an increase in competence and reported more confidence in addressing mental illness in everyday teaching. In addition, community networking effects were reported - e.g. higher awareness of local counseling centers and further services. The overwhelming majority of students who took part in the respective courses reported new learning experiences and an increase in knowledge about mental illness. Long-term offers were installed at all schools, such as a parent-teacher-student cafe and a theater group in Berlin that focuses on the topic of mental health, and the demand for regular teaching impulses from a former young carer (child of mentally ill parents) in the school day. A report about the project and its implementation was broadcast on Spanish television. A manual was published in German, Spanish and English (the latter language proved to be well suited for the implementation of the program in Iceland), which contains the essential information and teaching content and enables schools to independently implement the core components of the program.