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Children’s and adolescents’ health problems are often related to mental health, and their wellbeing should be supported in schools. This study describes school nurses’ role and how equipped they are in recognizing students’ mental health needs and in supporting students’ mental health. Moreover, we explored the methods used and the barriers that exist for supporting students’ mental health. A national survey for members of the Finnish Public Health Association working as school nurses was conducted (n = 136/648, 21%). The survey questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data using manifest content analysis. Participants (n = 127/133, 96%) agreed that they had an important role in ensuring that students’ mental health needs are met on time. Around one-third reported training needs for mental health interventions (n = 42/115, 36%), and a similar proportion (n = 42/136, 31%) indicated lacking adequate knowledge and skills for supporting mental health among culturally diverse students. Identified barriers for students getting help were a lack of options for sending students to mental health services (n = 92/134, 69%) and a lack of adequate training (n = 81/134, 68%). School nurses are key in providing early mental health support to students. Therefore, the availability of intervention education and training on assessing and supporting students’ mental health is needed and should be improved.

It is not uncommon for teachers to face challenging behavioral issues in their classrooms, including disruptive, aggressive, or insulting behavior toward peers or adults. In this paper, we describe what knowledge, skills, and support is needed among teaching personnel to manage challenging situations with pupils. This study was carried out in one comprehensive school in Southwest Finland. Two focus group interviews were conducted with teaching personnel (schoolteachers and classroom assistants, N = 16). The participants also wrote short texts about challenging situations they had experienced. The qualitative data were analyzed with inductive content analysis. According to the results, the teaching personnel needed better knowledge about the factors affecting pupils’ behavior and about good practices to apply with pupils in challenging situations. Moreover, the personnel lacked the skills needed to anticipate and recognize pupils’ moods and signs of mental distress, and expressed the desire for support from mental health professionals. Teachers with adequate knowledge about the factors linked to behavioral issues are more capable of promoting environments conducive to positive interactions with their pupils, thereby limiting challenging situations. When developing education and support for teaching personnel, collaboration between education and mental health professionals is essential.