The inclusion of Shool-age educare centres in the work to promote mental health and prevent mental illness

School-age educare centers have an important environment where children spend a significant part of their time. The school-age educare center’s preventive work is based on different methods and strategies.An integrated and inclusive pedagogy promotes positive relationships between children and increases their sense of belonging. Trained educators and staff play a key role in creating safe and supportive environments where children can develop their social skills.The purpose of the study is to take a closer look at how schools and their student health services include after-school centers in health promotion work. The method that we have chosen to collect data is based on a qualitative method, consisting of questionnaires with open-ended questions in which principals, student health services and school-age educare centers answered questions about inclusion, prevention,and skills development. We have based our work on previous research on prevention and health promotion in the school as a whole and the contribution of after-school centers to health promotion. The theory chosen for the study is KASAM and the intercultural perspective and its concepts are mental illness and mental health. Results and analyses show that principals and student health services have a holistic approach to health promotion and prevention work aimed at schools, but after-school centers educators are not included in this work on the same terms as schoolteachers. The research in our final discussion shows that everyone / all involved including the after-school centers needs to work together in the prevention of mental health problems.