Building the evidence base for safer institutions and healthier lives.

Where parents see schools falling short

• 7/7 say teachers are too overburdened to reliably monitor wellbeing
• 5/7 were not confident teachers can spot the hidden warning signs
• 6/7 point to teachers' fear of "saying the wrong thing" as the root cause
• 7/7 would back SWISS even at one hour of academic time per month

"It should start very young, from Grade 4, so that it is normalised."— Parent · Gurgaon Focus Group

Where confidence is lowest — the practical-moment gaps

• 16/19 had never received any gatekeeper training before this survey
• 2.7/7 on knowing the resources to refer a student to — the lowest-rated skill
• 3.0/7 on recognising the signs of suicide risk; 3.0/7 on how to approach someone at risk
• Confidence fell below the midpoint on 7 of the 9 skills measured. The empathy is there (4.9/7 on listening) — the scaffolding isn't yet.

The 3 educators with prior training scored far higher — about 49 vs 29 on average. But with only three trained people and no before-and-after, this is a hint, not proof. The GKSES is being set up as a pre/post measure to test training impact for real.— GKSES Brief, March 2026

What the evidence shows

• 9 / 9 skill areas improved — every gain significant at p < 0.001
• 5 / 5 schools improved, with gains of +0.50 to +1.11 points
• 71% of the 182 individually tracked teachers raised their own score
• The low-confidence band nearly halved (44% → 24%) and "confident or higher" rose 2.5× (15% → 37%) — from a group where 19 in 20 had never had any gatekeeper training

A strong start — and a floor that has to be laid again every year. At 4.28, teachers still sit below the 4.5 scale midpoint: a floor raised, not a ceiling reached. Coverage belongs to the school, and it thins every year as new, untrained teachers arrive.— Gatekeeper Training Impact Brief, July 2026

What it captures

• Real time-split between counselling, crisis response, and non-counselling duties
• The expanded role: discipline, parent meetings, value education, POSH duties, classroom cover
• Honest answers on what would actually help — the things hard to say in a staff meeting

What it measures

• Self-rated concern about student mental health in Grades 9–12
• Whether the current curriculum allows space for open dialogue on mental health
• Confidence in spotting the "hidden" signs of suicidal ideation

Objectives

• Validate the parental-concern signal with school-side perspectives
• Map current safeguarding workflow against SWISS standards
• Set the baseline for the Gatekeeper Training Impact study