SK Air Baruk: The ‘Let’s Move It’ dance programme increases student understanding between physical activity and mental health.
Twelve schools from Melaka, Negri Sembilan and Terengganu have been named winners of the grassroots mental health transformation Mindshift competition, jointly delivered by LeapEd Services and Yayasan Hasanah to tackle the rising mental health crisis among Malaysian children.
The top winners were:
> SMK Kuala Jenderis, Terengganu
The school’s entry, “Juggek D’Bamboo”, blended traditional music and natural elements to create a bamboo-based healing space where students could recharge both emotionally and physically. Awareness of the link between exercise and mental health jumped from 23% to 96%, and there was a 5% increase in students reporting that they felt happier coming to school.
> SK Air Baruk, Melaka
The “Let’s Move It” initiative was an energetic, student-led programme that transformed morning assemblies and classroom sessions into upbeat dance and aerobic workouts for the whole school. Student understanding of the link between physical activity and mental health soared in just five months – from 68.42% in August last year to 97.12% in January this year, marking a powerful cultural shift across the school.
SK Pelangai: ‘FunSpel’ daily aerobic exercise reduces absenteeism.
> SK Pelangai, Negri Sembilan
The school’s winning innovation, “Fun SPel”, was a student-led daily aerobic exercise programme aimed at tackling absenteeism. Following its implementation, school attendance improved significantly, from 88% to 92%.
The other winners were SK Sura, SMK Kijal and SK Bukit Payong (Terengganu); SMK Paya Rumput, SMK Bukit Baru and SK Tun Syed Ahmad Shahabudin (Melaka); and SK Sungala, SK Lavender Heights and SK Kampung Sawah (Negri Sembilan).
The schools were awarded a total of RM11,400 in prize money in recognition of their innovative, data-driven student well-being interventions.
These schools, said LeapEd Services Sdn Bhd managing director Nina Adlan Disney, have demonstrated that whole-school interventions can improve well-being, strengthen national resilience, and ensure educational equity.
“Mindshift is a scalable model of how transformational social impact can be catalysed – school by school, child by child.
“With continued investment from impact-focused partners like Yayasan Hasanah, Mindshift could be expanded into a national model for early mental health intervention across Malaysian schools,” she said in a press release dated Aug 21.
From awareness to action
The Mindshift competition was the culmination of a 15-month programme that kicked off in April last year to strengthen teachers’ mental health literacy, raise legal awareness around child protection, and build their capacity to design context-specific health interventions.
Through the workshops, a total of 71 schools, 198 teachers and more than 35,000 students were positively impacted nationwide.
The Mindshift programme was developed as an urgent response to Malaysia’s child mental health crisis.
Dr Nur Anuar Abdul Muthalib, education senior director at Yayasan Hasanah, which funded the programme, said an estimated one million Malaysian children are experiencing distress today.
According to the quadrennial 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey, one in six children reported mental health challenges, with prevalence doubling since 2019.
The survey also found that 46% of students faced peer-related problems such as bullying, social isolation or emotional withdrawal.
“Addressing this crisis is not just a moral obligation – it is an economic, social and national imperative.
“The consequences of inaction are well-documented: untreated childhood mental health issues lead to lower lifetime earnings, higher unemployment rates, and widening cycles of inequality.
“Early intervention – particularly through schools – is not only effective, it is essential to safeguarding our nation’s future,” he said.
Initial findings from Mindshift highlighted its potential for transformation, with:
> an 80% increase in teacher awareness of holistic well-being (sleep, nutrition, emotional regulation, etc);
> 60% of teachers now co-creating well-being strategies with students;
> 62% reporting high confidence in designing personalised interventions; and
> Student feedback from 380 participants showing higher school connectedness, emotional literacy, and willingness to seek help.
