Schools have never been places where children only learn to read, write and count. They are also places where young people learn how to belong, cope, relate, fail, recover and grow. Long before the term “student well-being” became common in policy documents, several educational pioneers were already challenging the idea that children’s emotional lives could be separated from their learning
Pioneers of children’s mental health care
Maria Montessori was one of the earliest figures to show that education could be healing when it respected the dignity and development of the child. Trained as a medical doctor, Montessori began her work with children who had disabilities and observed that their difficulties were not only medical, but also educational and environmental
Her approach emphasised carefully prepared spaces, sensory materials, independence and respect for each child’s pace of development. In doing so, she helped shift attention away from blame and towards the conditions that allow children to flourish
August Aichhorn, working with vulnerable and troubled young people in Austria, also moved beyond punishment. At a time when difficult behaviour was often treated as moral failure, Aichhorn argued that delinquency could reflect emotional pain, unmet needs and adverse life experiences
His work with at-risk youth was deeply influenced by psychoanalytic thinking, but its message remains relevant today: young people who behave in challenging ways often need understanding, stability and belonging before they can change. This is a lesson schools still need to remember when responding to defiance, withdrawal, aggression or persistent disengagement
A.S. Neill, founder of Summerhill School in England, brought another radical idea into education: children need freedom from fear. Neill believed that emotional health could not grow in schools ruled by coercion, humiliation or excessive control
His democratic school model may not be easily transferable to every setting, but its core principle remains powerful: a child’s voice matters. A school that silences children may achieve obedience, but not necessarily resilience or inner confidence
Susan Isaacs added another important dimension through her work at Malting House School in Cambridge. She viewed children as active thinkers and social beings, not empty containers to be filled. Play, curiosity, movement and relationships were central to her understanding of child development
Isaacs helped educators take children’s questions and emotions seriously. Her work reminds us that early education is not merely preparation for later academic success; it is a foundation for emotional security, social confidence and intellectual exploration
Anna Freud, working with children affected by war, separation and displacement, deepened understanding of how trauma and emotional conflict affect development. Her work showed that children need both freedom and structure, both affection and boundaries
She understood that children’s behaviour often carries hidden meaning. In today’s language, she helped prepare the ground for trauma-informed education: the idea that schools should ask not only “What is wrong with this child?” but also “What has this child experienced, and what support is needed now?”
The Malta Mental Health Strategy highlights the role of schools in early identification, stigma reduction, bullying prevention, mental health education and timely referral
Holistic view of children’s mental health
Together, these thinkers helped move education from a narrow model of discipline and instruction towards a broader view of the child as a whole person. Their legacy is visible in modern approaches that speak of inclusion, safeguarding, pastoral care, emotional literacy, school climate, resilience and early intervention
This historical journey matters greatly for Malta. Our education system is now shaped by a legal and policy framework that increasingly recognises the rights, needs and well-being of learners
Malta’s education legislation, including the Education Act and the Further and Higher Education Act, provides the structural basis for governance, quality and access across compulsory, further and higher education. However, legislation alone cannot create mentally healthy schools. Laws provide the framework; culture gives that framework life
Malta’s Mental Health Strategy 2020-2030 makes an important statement: mental health is not only the responsibility of clinics and hospitals. It is shaped by families, communities, workplaces and schools
The strategy specifically recognises that children’s relationships with their parents, friends, peers and teachers, influence their well-being. It also highlights the role of schools in early identification, stigma reduction, bullying prevention, mental health education and timely referral
The National Education Strategy 2024-2030 strengthens this direction by placing well-being as one of its central pillars. It acknowledges that young people are growing up in a world marked by rapid technological change, global instability, social pressures and digital complexity
Its emphasis on the family-community-school link programme is particularly significant. It recognises that student well-being cannot be carried by teachers alone. Families, community organisations, psychosocial professionals and policymakers must work together
The challenge now is implementation. Mental health in schools should not be another slogan or another burden placed on educators
It must be translated into manageable systems: trained staff, clear referral pathways, age-appropriate mental health education, reasonable assessment procedures, positive behaviour policies, student voice, parental support and sufficient professional services
The pioneers of the past would probably recognise many of today’s concerns. Montessori would ask whether our classrooms allow dignity and independence
Aichhorn would ask whether we understand the pain behind behaviour
Neill would ask whether students feel safe and free from fear
Isaacs would ask whether curiosity and play have been pushed aside
Freud would ask whether we are attentive to trauma, loss, family troubles, abuse and emotional development
Malta’s task is to bring these lessons into the present. A mentally healthy school is not one that removes all difficulty from young people’s lives
It is one that helps them face difficulty with support, metacognition or self-reflection, and hope. That may be one of the most important educational aims of our time
Josephine Ebejer Grech is a doctoral candidate studying the well-being and academic resilience of post-secondary students
