On Thursday 27th February members of our Wellbeing and Inclusion Special Interest Group (University of Cambridge) met to engage in a session led by Tania Clarke entitled ‘Engaging children in research on their wellbeing: participatory methods of understanding’. The session, though predominantly focused on using participatory methods that place children at the centre of research on their wellbeing, led to a wider discussion about the current state of play for UK schools when it comes to child wellbeing.
Something we all pondered over at length was what kind of meaningful change could be brought about by the UK government’s recent introduction of a new Health Education curriculum – which will include components on mental wellbeing and emotional health – at Primary and Secondary levels.
This blog outlines the recent Government guidance, before describing some of the practical ways in which primary and secondary schools have addressed wellbeing, while juggling the constraints of a school budget and external demands on achievement.
Tania Clarke, Vice-Chancellor & St Edmund’s College PhD Scholar, University of Cambridge (Psychology & Education), Young Carers Group Coordinator for Centre 33
The emphasis on mental wellbeing in the new Health Education curriculum, which is to be delivered alongside the existing Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), suggests that schools should adopt a whole-school approach to children’s wellbeing. The intention behind this being to improve wellbeing to in turn improve attainment:
“This will enable them to become confident in their ability to achieve well and persevere even when they encounter setbacks or when their goals are distant […] This integrated, whole-school approach to the teaching and promotion of health and wellbeing has a potential positive impact on behaviour and attainment.”
(Government guidance on new Health Education curriculum, July 2019)
This guidance, placing yet another expectation on schools – to facilitate children’s wellbeing alongside their academic achievement – comes in the wake of a report written by the Centre for Education Economics in 2018 which proposed there is a ‘trade-off’ between pupils’ wellbeing and their academic achievement. It was this idea – that we cannot prioritise child wellbeing and academic achievement simultaneously – which led me to pursue my doctoral research exploring the relationship between the two. Having previously worked in the assessment and curriculum world for three years, I became curious as to how traditional conceptions of education might be more inclusive, and consider the wider socio-emotional aspects of children’s lives alongside their cognitive abilities.
The questions raised during our SIG discussion were consequently:
With schools already facing accountability measures and a squeezed curricula, can pupil wellbeing be fostered as an added ‘extra’ focus to wider curricula?
Or is more holistic, whole-school – or even wider national systemic change – what is needed if we are to truly nurture pupil wellbeing?
The questions we face
What follows are some examples of how schools and specialist practitioners have responded to these questions in practice, including Secondary schools (Julie Bailey), the University of Cambridge Primary School (James Biddulph), an onsite psychologist (Kate Brierton) and Westglade Primary School in Nottingham (Jo Keely and Julia Hayes).
Julie Bailey PhD Student (Psychology & Education) at the Education Faculty, University of Cambridge and Chair (designate) of The Cavendish School Local Governing Body, Morris Education Trust
The question of adding ‘extras’ into the UK school curriculum is not a new one. The introduction of the new Citizenship Curriculum in the early 2000s prompted similar discussions within schools. As Head of Humanities in a large secondary school during this time, I took the view then as I do now, that learning values, attitudes and the skills for a successful life happens most effectively when it is built into the values, principles and practice of the school community. In the example of citizenship, how can you begin to teach democracy without listening to the voices in your own community?
And how can we begin to develop life-long wellbeing in the children and young people in our school without demonstrably supporting the wellbeing of the whole school community, and in doing so engage in meaningful conversations about how we define and measure wellbeing? It is to the practice in the schools that are leading the way in supporting the wellbeing of their communities that we need to look for guidance and inspiration.
In my educational roles, I have found that good practice in supporting wellbeing goes hand-in-hand with inclusive educational communities. For example, at Impington Village College, a highly successful and highly inclusive secondary school, the wellbeing of both students and staff has been placed at the heart of school life by senior leaders and governors. For the younger children at the University of Cambridge Primary School, the educational journey for every child starts with the creation of an inclusive environment in which the child can feel comfortable, safe, listened to and understood. Schools that prioritise wellbeing also know the value of specialist support from charities such as Place2Be and Blue Smile.
Dr James Biddulph Head Teacher, FRSA, FCCT and Aimee Durning, Lead Learning Coach (TA) at The University of Cambridge Primary School Cambridge
It is not only essential that schools develop children’s wellbeing through their ethos, values and inclusive practices but through curriculum design. Our curriculum, whose foundations were built upon the Cambridge Primary Review (Alexander, 2010) and Learning Without Limits provides a holistic learning experience for all learners. Each morning every learning street is filled with children singing and then preparing for a moment of mindfulness before the day begins. Furthermore, the Arts and Creativities are valued alongside traditional academic subjects. There is less of a hierarchy in subject domains – although a recognition of reading, writing and maths as key building blocks.
“…it is important that everyone has the space to acknowledge difficult times, experience feeling well and knowing what makes them well.”
Wellbeing is important for all members of our school. Our educators have wellbeing sessions with a drama therapist once a term. The purpose of these sessions is to give space, both temporal and physical (i.e. out of the classroom but during the school day), to speak the unsaid; it is important that everyone has the space to acknowledge difficult times, experience feeling well and knowing what makes them well. This will be different for each person, whether this is a walk in the park with friends, reading for pleasure. playing the piano or even researching about education! The same applies for children, especially our most vulnerable; they have to have experience joyful moments in order to recognise a feeling of wellness – that is why the arts are so important at UCPS.
A reporter once asked us why joy should have a place in primary education – the question bemused us. Why shouldn’t schools be joyful and opening spaces for possibilities and imaginative future making? To truly nurture children’s wellbeing, schools need to be joyful places where adults listen deeply and treat all children with respect, kindness and dignity. The school’s behaviour policy needs to reflect the diversity of the community and not single out and punish children for behaviours that they are unable to control (yet). When their needs are met and understood, positive wellbeing is maintained. This cannot be accomplished through standalone PSHE lessons alone – it must be in the fabric of the tapestry of learning experiences that children have each day; it must be modelled by the educators, it must be discussed, it must be acknowledged when things go awry and exploration of new ways forward embarked upon together. We have mixed metaphors: fabric and journeying. Essentially, they both work: wellbeing and understanding what it means to nurture wellness in the school community for and with children is vital; it gives comfort blankets for those parts of the journey that are particularly dark.
Dr Kate Brierton Clinical Psychologist at Compassionate Cambridge, SEND & Wellbeing Governor at Impington Village College, Associate Author Cambridge University Press and Christina Gkonou, Senior Lecturer in TESOL and MA TESOL Programme Director in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, Associate Author Cambridge University Press
Approaches to wellbeing that focus on “sticking plaster” add-ons are not valuable or useful. In fact, they can be stigmatising in the wrong context. So, our emphasis is on creating a whole school culture of wellbeing, starting with leaders, then staff and finally students. At Impington Village College, the school community developed their own meaning of wellbeing; a focus group of students said it was “feeling contented and at peace with themselves“. These young people know what they are talking about!
Whole school wellbeing: building a compassionate school culture
Human beings are social animals. When social connection and support are prioritised in a workplace, members of the community can flourish and thrive in an atmosphere of trust, safety and collaborative relationships. Nowhere is this more important than our schools and colleges, where we are laying foundations for young people to go on to achieve their potential across all areas of life. A compassionate school culture is one where members value and respect each other and are encouraged to take responsibility for the wellbeing of everyone in the school community.
Increasing connection: begin by noticing
The first way to increase compassion in your school is to encourage everyone to slow down. Create small pockets of time in the school timetable as opportunities for staff to check in emotionally with their colleagues and team members. Give permission for staff to get together, without any specific purpose or goal driven aim, over coffee or lunch. It is very helpful if team leaders and managers can role model this type of behaviour and check in with staff – even just taking a stroll down the corridor at lunchtime allows this. How are the staff feeling? Does anyone need some help or support? Everyone in the school could be encouraged to set an intention to check in with a colleague every day.
Daring to be vulnerable
Another way to develop a compassionate culture is to encourage staff to dare to be vulnerable by talking about worries, frustrations and insecurities with each other (Brown, 2012). This takes courage but teachers will find that they share some of the same concerns, and discussing the issues may not only provide support, but also potential solutions. There is a flow to compassion. If academic managers can also express vulnerabilities and uncertainties, this will permit staff to express their own concerns without feeling weak or inferior in front of you. No-one is perfect; we have a shared humanity and we all face common difficulties every day. Facing them together will build a stronger school community.
Making connections
Any activity which strengthens strong and supportive relationships within your school will promote compassion, creating feelings of trust, safety and a sense of belonging. It could be developing a shared vision and mission for your school to give your work meaning and purpose, providing chances for staff to connect during the school day and in extra-curricular activities or organising some social groups and outings. Try discovering common interests with your colleagues and celebrate them – get to know people outside of work and get them to know the real you.
Decreasing threat in the culture: organisational structures and systems
A focus on the wellbeing and connection of individuals is not going to be effective if it is undermined by the structures and systems of the school. For example, training staff in the self-reflection techniques described above will not be effective if there is no time available in the working day to be reflective! Therefore, compassion for self and others needs to be facilitated by whole school systems designed to alleviate stress and promote wellbeing.
“The importance of culture cannot be underestimated in any organisation but is particularly important in education where we strive to shape and develop the next generation. A positive culture is underpinned by a desire to provide for and invest in the people that make up the community and a clear focus on wellbeing is at the heart of this investment.”
(Ryan Kelsall, Principal, Impington Village College)
Julia Hayes, PhD Student (Education) at the University of Cambridge, Educational Psychologist and International Consultant in inclusive education
As an educational psychologist, I have been fortunate enough to work with a highly inclusive school located in a deprived area of Nottingham: Westglade Primary School. With double the national number of pupils eligible for pupil premium, it has a strong reputation for addressing the wellbeing of pupils and staff alongside attainment results that are above the national average. The Head Teacher, Jo Keely, shared some of the practical ways in which they have promoted wellbeing.
1. Wellbeing is at heart of all they do
While pupils do have a weekly PSHE session, every decision staff make – be it budgeting or curriculum – is driven by the question ‘will this make the children feel great?’. Moving beyond feeling happy, they focus on making children feel good about themselves – which could be conquering their times tables or attending a cultural activity. On a practical note, they applied the Leuvens scale of wellbeing to all their curriculum planning. This enabled them to examine to what extent activities contributed to children’s well being and involvement in lessons, and resulted in more lessons that both excited and engaged the children.
2. Budgeting for things that benefit children
With a constrained budget, Jo consulted with staff, children, stakeholders and community to include their priorities inschool improvement planning. Children wanted quiet spaces, so the school bought two reading huts which see children reading in a summer or winter wonderland themed space. For children with additional needs they created tiered support, which includes highly skilled TAs running support groups (e.g. social skills, bereavement) and for those with more complex issues, in-house individual play therapy and therapeutic counselling.
3. Staff wellbeing
Jo argues that without staff wellbeing, children will not thrive. Focused upon ‘work-home’ balance, they have reduced workload through changes such as using staff meetings to do displays or pulling together data reports, and made life less stressful by allowing staff to work from home for PPA. Senior leaders deal with breaktime behaviour issues, with a focus on restorative justice, meaning children are calm by the time they return to class. Jo finished by saying:
“The children at Westglade are viewed by the entire staff as amazing individuals who with the correct support, encouragement and deep care are able to achieve their potential in a happy and purposeful environment.”
Jo Keely, Headteacher, Westglade Primary School
As a visitor I can vouch for this and recommend a visit!
Cambridge Wellbeing & Inclusion SIG 