Primary schools: opportune settings for changing attitudes and promoting mental health

Reducing the prejudice towards mental illness in a primary school setting and creating a supportive environment for families where a parent has a mental illness. Teacher workshops and classroom sessions for grades 5 and 6 children on mental illness. Significant increase in teachers' confidence to support a child whose parent has a mental illness. Reduced prejudice towards people with schizophrenia among the children. The primary school setting appears to be an effective environment to promote mental health literacy and reduce the likelihood of negative stereotype formation. A program consisting of both health information and consumer and carer experience appeared to be effective in fostering more positive attitudes towards people with a mental illness.