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What is school wellbeing? 

Wellbeing does not exist in isolation. It is made up of different, interrelated elements including: 

• Individual wellbeing 

• Social wellbeing 

• Academic wellbeing 

Mental, physical and emotional wellbeing are umbrella terms that work across these areas in complex ways. 

Similarly, education is always more than the sum of its parts – it is based on complex and often subtle relationships between its different elements. These relationships form a sort of ‘unseen curriculum’, which is as fundamental to learning as the explicit curriculum. 

This includes the extent to which each student has a sense of being part of their community. This sense of belonging is powerful in shaping each student’s identity, and through it, their wellbeing. 

Wellbeing in education can be understood in terms of helping develop students into effective contributors to society – both in the place where they are now (school), and in the places they are going to next (school, higher education and the wider world).

At the same time, schools can be the safest place in some students’ lives. This means that many teachers are confronted with a range of complex mental health challenges every day.  

Teachers’ ability to respond to these challenges varies depending on their training, personality, resources and approach. Clarity around the role of educators in supporting wellbeing is key in giving students the right support at the right time. 

What is the school’s role in student wellbeing? 

Schools play an important role in student wellbeing by fostering a safe, inclusive and productive environment where students can flourish. 

Some key areas of wellbeing responsibility include: 

• Establishing a positive culture and safe space 

• Promoting and teaching mental health literacy 

• Monitoring student behaviour and emotional health to support identification of potential problems and early intervention 

• Educating staff to recognise signs of wellbeing challenges 

As each school considers its approach to wellbeing challenges, it is important to clarify some foundational questions around the role schools and teachers play. School communities should consider: 

• Where do the school gates end? 

• What can and should schools do when it comes to student wellbeing? 

• What is within the control of schools and teachers, and what is not? 

• Where does technology fit in supporting teachers, students and their community? 

Building resilience and wellbeing in schools 

As many schools know, an important focus in meeting the wider wellbeing challenge is helping students build resilience. 

In practice, this work should begin with defining strong wellbeing for young people and working with them to define resilience and wellbeing for themselves, in their own context. 

Together with clarity around the framing questions above, this process provides strong foundations for building an effective wellbeing culture within a school. 

How schools can build on this foundation 

Once you have established this foundation, schools can continue to support and champion student wellbeing by: 

• Building a strong sense of community: being part of a community supports wellbeing, enables peer support and makes it easier to spot early signs of mental ill health, enabling early intervention 

• Driving wellbeing cultures: keep wellbeing at the heart of your school culture to promote open conversations and improve resilience 

• ³¢±ð±¹±ð°ù²¹²µ¾±²Ô²µÌý³Ù±ð³¦³ó²Ô´Ç±ô´Ç²µ²â: consider how you could use technology to support better wellbeing and enable conversations around student wellbeing 

Spot the early signs of wellbeing challenges 

A student’s behaviour often reflects their wellbeing. Changing behaviour can be an early sign of mental health and wellbeing problems. 

Having a holistic view of each student’s behaviour enables you to spot emerging patterns and behavioural changes you might not see otherwise. 

Using purpose-built behaviour management software such as ÌÇÐÄVlog Class Charts keeps all your behaviour reporting and records in one place, so you can spot the early signs a student might be struggling and ensure they get the right support at the right time. 

Read our free guide to explore how Class Charts can support your school to save valuable time and improve student outcomes. 

Get the guide