Does a student show excessive irritability? Or has completely lost interest in school and activities? Is anyone acting inappropriate for their age? Or is someone staying aloof? – with such questions, teachers have to identify mental health issues faced by students and then work to resolve those with help from school counsellors. As schools start on Monday, after 1.5 years of online learning from home, staff members are getting ready to deal with the mental and emotional health of their students.

As schools will resume partially, the focus is beyond academics. While teachers are trained to identify children facing issues and to help resolve them, webinars are being planned with parents as well as students, to understand their state of mind. Schools are also preparing extensive plans on mental health in order to create a safe space for students to talk. The idea is to help them ease into the new normal, which is why focus will be more on socio-emotional well-being.