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Pastoral care in education today: its continuing role in promoting mental health in children and young people

ABSTRACT There are many difficulties facing families in today’s world, including economic pressures, fallout from the pandemic, and enforced migration from war-torn countries. Mental health problems are known to have a disproportionately negative impact on the lives of children and young people and their families who are already vulnerable through such conditions as poverty or being a refugee, that put them at heightened risk of marginalisation and discrimination. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the complexity and scale of the problems. However, in this article, I argue that pastoral care systems in schools continue to play a significant role in alleviating the distress of children and young people, of building on their inner strengths of resilience, hope and creativity, and of connecting to the people, systems and resources around them. This article proposes two key recommendations for pastoral care in education – the need to create systems and interventions that reach out to families in the community and the need to enhance and strengthen peer relationships both within and beyond the school community.