Interim education plan extended, with focus on mental health

As students get ready to go back to the classroom, the Saskatchewan government has extended an education plan to ensure young learners are set up for success.

Saskatchewan’s Interim Provincial Education Plan has been extended for the upcoming year, with the aim of providing mental health support, anti-bullying initiatives, and math and literacy programs.

The plan was developed by the provincial government in 2021-22 to help support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interim plan will be replaced by a long-term provincial education plan next year, with work happening throughout the year.

The plan highlighted three priorities: Mental health and well-being supports for both students and staff; reading instruction and support for students in grades 1 to 5; and, supportive learning opportunities offering literacy and math help.

When it comes to mental health, the province said each school system will create its own mental health and well-being plan. The plan also includes $603,000 to support anti-bullying, mental health, and student safety initiatives. That number is up by $25,000, the government noted.

To help ensure trained staff know how to handle mental health issues when they arise, the province will continue offering mental health first aid training to school divisions, with the aim of having at least one trained staff member in each of the province’s schools.

As of June, the government noted, 926 people have received the training, and only three schools were without a trained staff member.

Reading strategies will also be implemented, the government noted, with reading support plans developed for students who need extra help.

The third priority, supportive learning opportunities, will see schools “focus on engaging and welcoming students to school and on supporting students in literacy and math in Grades 1 through 12,” the government said.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to supporting students and staff as we return to school this fall,” Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s education minister, said in a statement.

The interim plan, the government noted, was developed with help from First Nations education authorities, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, and senior Ministry of Education officials.