An exploration of emotional health interventions in English secondary schools

For many individuals, emotional distress first occurs in adolescence, and worsens throughout the teenage years. If unaddressed, this can lead to serious long-term difficulties such as social exclusion, poor health and even death. Interventions to improve adolescents' emotional health and help individuals cope appropriately with emotional distress are therefore crucial. Schools are an important setting for reaching large numbers of adolescents, and are acknowledged to have a significant influence on their health. However, little is known about how emotional health is approached in English secondary schools, or the effectiveness of current activities, and this research aims to answer those questions. A random sample of 300 secondary schools, two in each Local Education Authority in England, will be sent a questionnaire about the lessons and activities focusing on emotional health that they currently deliver, and the barriers that exist to implementing school-based work in this area. Student focus groups will then be conducted in a sub-sample of six schools, to discuss young people's perceptions of their own emotional health needs, how far these might be addressed in school, and the extent to which this is already being achieved. It is intended that the findings will inform the design of a large-scale, school-based intervention.