Pupils and students are at a stage of life in which a great deal often happens and changes. They experience mental health problems such as stress and a lack of motivation, and sometimes have difficulty focusing. This can also get in the way of their learning performance. MIND Us, of which Queen Máxima is honorary chair, wants young people to gain control over their mental health, develop resilience and know where to find help when needed. The foundation discusses these issues with young people, among others.

Discussing well-being

During a round-table discussion on well-being and mental health, the Queen and the Minister spoke with pupils, students and Healthy School coordinators from Nova College and Kennemer College about various topics: what are schools, municipalities and other organisations in Beverwijk doing to promote the mental health of pupils and students? Is this sufficient to actually reach the young people who most need support?

The Queen and the Minister also spoke with young people who took part in a co-creation session. This is intended to result in a manifesto in which young people express what they need in education for their mental health.

Insight

Through this working visit by Queen Máxima and Minister Wiersma to Nova College in Beverwijk, MIND Us gained greater insight into how vocational colleges and secondary schools are working to promote the mental health of their pupils and students. It also became clear how the Healthy School approach can help intensify and strengthen efforts in this area. The collaboration between MIND Us and the Healthy School programme will be further developed in the coming months.

Iris Kummeling is Healthy School programme manager: “During the visit, a student put it very aptly: ‘It is still often the case that young people’s mental health problems are not immediately noticed by those around them. We need to have an open discussion about this, because we have to do it together.’ Through the Healthy School approach, every school can work on the theme of Well-being. We are seeing that schools increasingly need this. I hear this from many education professionals, and we can also see it in the figures. It remains important that this important theme continues to receive structural attention, which is why I am very pleased with the sincere interest shown by our Queen.”

Photo credit: Robin Utrecht/MIND Us.