| Summary: | Children who are mentally healthy have the ability to develop empathy and self-awareness. They can manage their feelings, are motivated, and have good social skills. Research suggests that the school is an important location for the promotion of mental health in children. However, very little is known about how teachers in Ireland feel about taking on the role of mental health promotion. Methodology: A mixed methods approach was adopted to examine this issue within one county in the west of Ireland. Questionnaires were distributed to all of the primary schools in the county. These were then analysed using SPSS. Based on these findings, four teachers were interviewed to gain a fuller understanding of some of the issues raised. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The findings suggest that, for the most part, teachers agree that mental health promotion is a part of their role. They are more likely to feel this way if they also feel that they are capable of promoting mental health, if their school has a supportive ethos, and if they believe that mental health promotion is important. In general, teachers felt that they had not received enough training in mental health promotion. As such, this was a source of some stress and can have an impact on the teachers' own well-being. These results are discussed in relation to previous research and government policy, in addition to the possible implications at a local and national level and to EP practice.
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