While many schools have shifted back to in-person schooling after the peak of the pandemic, many educators still approach the school year with cautious optimism. To ease anxieties, deeper infrastructural changes can be made in schools to prioritise job quality, community healing, individual wellness, and foster a school culture of inclusiveness and belonging. To safeguard students’ mental health in schools, acknowledging that our education systems directly contribute to the mental health crisis is key; bold steps schools can take to prioritise students’ mental wellbeing include limiting homework, eliminating class rankings, and limiting the number of extra classes students can take.

Increasing the awareness and availability of mental health resources in schools is also crucial to supporting students. The number of primary school students in Singapore who required counselling support have risen and plateaued to 16 out of 1,000 over the last five years, as more students opened up to seeking help.