- Grow Well SG will reach Secondary One and Two students at 20 schools next year, then all secondary schools in 2028, to build healthier habits and mental resilience early.
- MOH will merge community mental health teams into HealthierMind SG to improve triage, link services better, and send less severe cases to community groups.
- Ong Ye Kung said early help, family support and schools are key, while stigma still stops young people from seeking care.
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SINGAPORE - Grow Well SG, a national health promotion initiative for children and adolescents, will be extended to Secondary One and Two students at 20 schools early next year, before being expanded to all secondary schools in 2028, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung announced on Oct 22.
The idea is to strengthen schools as key places where young people learn to build resilience earlier and cope with mental health challenges, said Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.
“Schools are a major part of a young person’s life besides their families. They are where young people learn and grow, receive and give support, and feel safe to step forth and seek help when they face personal challenges,” he said, speaking at the Singapore Systemic Family Therapy Conference at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
“Our schools are already doing some of this today, including building resilience through the curriculum, supportive relationships and access to school counsellors. We want to build on this through Grow Well SG.”
It will also be easier for young people to access mental health support when they need it.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will bring existing community mental health teams into a single network under a unified framework called HealthierMind SG. This will better integrate services and help individuals navigate the system and access appropriate support more easily, he said.
An immediate obstacle is stigma, and young people may hesitate to seek help not because they do not want to get better, but because they are worried about the consequences of doing so, he pointed out.
“They worry whether it would leave a permanent mark on their record and affect their future; whether it would disappoint their families; and whether they would be judged by people around them.”
So the longer-term solution, similar to how other chronic diseases are managed, lies in prevention and managing the condition early, before it becomes severe.
“We must intervene earlier to help people stay mentally well, recognise problems early, and support them in the community,” said Ong in his speech.
“If we do this well, an individual will not face these pressures alone. They can be supported by the people and environments around them, especially their families, schools and communities.”
Mental health needs are rising in Singapore, with one in three young persons aged 10 to 18 reported mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety.
Next year, under Grow Well Sg, each secondary school student will develop a personalised health plan together with healthcare professionals. Unlike the plans for primary school students, the Grow Well SG Health Plan for secondary schools will focus on normalising conversations about mental health, and raising awareness of the mental health support available, Ong said.
Launched in early 2025 by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Grow Well SG aims to inculcate healthier lifestyles in children and adolescents to address their health and well-being in the digital age.
Crucially, the new HealthierMind SG framework will change how cases are triaged in schools are beyond.
Giving an example, he said that schools today refer all cases requiring additional mental health support only to public health institutions such as the Institute of Mental Health.
“But a more integrated arrangement would be to triage the cases, evaluate each case on their severity so that less severe cases can be referred to community organisations instead of the IMH. There, they can receive more accessible and appropriate support,” Ong said.
This would also open up opportunities for closer partnerships between schools and community organisations, he added.
MOH will work with the Agency for Integrated Care AIC and community organisations to transition to the new HealthierMind SG framework in the coming months, Ong said.
In his speech, Ong also said MOH is developing a set of guidelines to provide clearer guidance on how to give a young person a safe way to seek initial help, while involving the family at the right time as care progresses.
MOH plans to progressively strengthen the involvement of General Practitioners in providing mental health support.
He had said in an Oct 10 World Mental Health Day message that MOH is developing guidelines on parental consent for various service providers.