Do we have a whole-school approach to well-being?
A whole-school approach is more than having a collection of well-being activities, programmes or initiatives. It means that well-being is reflected consistently in what we value, what we teach, how we work with students and staff, and how we organise the school.
This page provides a way to explore what a coherent approach might look like — and to consider where your own school currently sits.
What dimensions of well-being are we addressing?
Harvard University has developed a tool that allows users to explore and compare up to 40 widely used social and emotional learning frameworks. Across these frameworks, Harvard identified six common domains: cognitive, emotion, social, values, perspectives and identity.
Use the tool to explore the different frameworks and consider which dimensions they emphasise.
Click HERE to enter the Harvard University site where you will find the 40 frameworks.
Looking at our own practice
Now turn the lens on your own school.
Most schools have a range of activities, programmes and practices that support student well-being. The question is whether these add up to a coherent approach across the school.
Consider:
- What do we explicitly teach?
Where and how do we intentionally develop students’ social and emotional skills? - What do we develop through relationships and school culture?
What messages about well-being are communicated through the way people interact and work together? - What structures and systems support well-being?
How do our policies, pastoral systems, routines and support structures contribute to well-being? - How consistently do students experience these across the school?
Would students experience a similar understanding and approach to well-being in different classes, year groups and areas of school life?
Then consider the bigger question:
Are these elements part of a coherent whole-school approach to well-being, or are they a collection of separate initiatives and practices?
From activities to coherence
A whole-school approach does not simply mean doing more for well-being. It means connecting what we do so that there is a shared understanding, consistent practice and a coherent experience for students.
The challenge for school leaders is therefore to move beyond asking: “What are we doing to support well-being?” and instead ask: “How are we designing a school in which well-being is embedded in what we teach, how we work and how students experience school?”
The purpose of exploring different well-being frameworks is not necessarily to select one framework to adopt. Rather, they provide a lens through which we can examine our own practice, identify the dimensions of well-being we are addressing, and consider where greater coherence might be needed.
The question is not: “Which well-being framework should we use?”
The question is: “What kind of whole-school approach to well-being are we creating?”