Wellbeing in Schools: A Teacher's Guide
Explore effective strategies to foster a culture of wellbeing for staff and students in schools, ensuring a supportive and thriving educational environment.
How Can Schools Address Student Wellbeing After COVID-19?
Schools can address post-pandemic wellbeingby implementing evidence-based strategies that target the doubled rates of student mental illness. The most effective approach involves making wellbeing a strategic priority at the senior leadership level, moving beyond individual interventions to create whole-school ecosystems. This includes introducing practical measures like gratitude diaries, tech-free lunchtimes, and structured positive psychology programs.
The measures put in place to protect people during the Covid-19 pandemic have had a significant and long-lasting impact on student wellbeing. This observation has been appropriately called the Pandemic Paradox (Bradbury-Jones & Isham, 2020), the methods used to protect our physical health have directly harmed our mental health.
Key Takeaways
- The Pandemic Paradox Recovery: Transform your school's mental health crisis into a strategic wellbeing plan that addresses the doubled rates of student mental illness
- Six Pillars of Flourishing: Master evidence-based strategies from positive psychology that operationalise happiness for both you and your pupils, starting with gratitude diaries and tech-free lunchtimes
- The Teacher Wellbeing Effect: Why your stress directly harms pupil mental health, and four practical interventions that break this cycle through autonomy and meaningful CPD
- Beyond Individual Interventions: Create a whole-school wellbeing environment that moves past one-off lessons to embed positive emotions, engagement, and achievement into everyday school life
Now that the periods of lockdown are over and the coronavirus pandemic is largely under control, we must start to address the global decline in pupils' wellbeing that is being seen as early as primary school.
Research has shown that students' wellbeing is deteriorating as they move through secondary school and college, with female students being more likely to experience mental health issues than males (Arslan & Burke, 2021; Owens et al., 2022).
The number of students leaving secondary with a mental health condition has doubled over the last three years. We need a recovery plan to prevent a new pandemic of mental illness in young people; one of the most effective ways we can do this is if senior leaders in schools and colleges make wellbeing a strategic priority.
What Does Research Say About Wellbeing Interventions in Schools?
Research shows that student wellbeing deteriorates throughout secondary school, with female students experiencing higher rates of mental health issues. Studies indicate that effective wellbeing interventions must be embedded into daily school life rather than delivered as one-off lessons. The most successful programs use positive psychology frameworks that address emotional, social, and academic aspects simultaneously.
Historically, it might have been challenging to find relevant research for developing whole-school approaches to wellbeing. There is now an abundance of research into whole school wellbeing programmes, advice for school leaders, and interventions available to promote positive mental health, physical health and emotional health in schools.
It is well-documented (and unsurprising) that students' learning and achievement at school deteriorate if they have poor mental health (Van Zyl & Stander, 2019). It is less well-known that teachers' wellbeing also has a detrimental effect on pupils' mental health (Evans et al., 2022).
For this reason, any whole school wellbeing programme or policy recognises the importance of teachers' wellbeing. School leaders should incorporate strategies to support the wellbeing of the whole community in their strategic development plans.
With this in mind, you will find below summaries of research-backed strategies that have been shown to improve wellbeing in schools.
How can I improve my own wellbeing?
We must prioritise our own mental health before we can effectively help others to improve theirs. Think of wellbeing as operationalised happiness. Psychologists have identified traits that are associated with preventing pathology and enabling people to flourish (positive psychology, Seligman, 2018).
Positive education is the use of research-informed strategies to develop those traits. By increasing our understanding of what makes us feel happy, we can put strategies in place to improve our own wellbeing.
Here are the six widely accepted pillars of wellbeing and how each one can be achieved:
Positive Emotions. This includes gratitude, self-control, and displaying emotional intelligence. Keeping a gratitude diary or listing three things you have been grateful for at the end of each day can help to encourage positive emotions.
Engagement. This occurs when you feel motivated, curious, or have opportunities to be creative. Find an activity you can be fully absorbed in; it could be reading, completing sudoku, knitting, drawing, running, anything that takes all of your focus.
Relationships. Being physically away from other people was one of the greatest challenges during the pandemic. Feeling connected to others, working together, leadership, and forgiveness will all improve the positive impact of relationships.
Meaning. Having a sense of purpose, caring for others, and understanding our core values all help to give our life meaning. Doing a random act of kindness or making a donation to charity can help achieve this pillar.
Achievement. This refers to achievement and accomplishment in every sense. It could be academic (e.g. Completing a Masters), professional (e.g. A promotion), physical (e.g. Achieving a new personal best), or personal (e.g. Meeting up with friends when you would have preferred to stay home). Recognising every achievement, no matter how small, can help us to feel happier.
Health. This refers to physical health, such as getting enough sleep or eating a balanced diet, and also having an awareness of the mind-body connection. Meditation can help to calm the mind.
How Can Schools Promote Student Wellbeing?
Schools can improve student wellbeing by embedding positive psychology into school policies, curriculums, and extracurricular activities. This complete approach requires training for teachers and staff to promote positive mental health strategies consistently. By implementing evidence-based interventions, schools can create an environment that creates resilience and improves student outcomes.
A recent randomised control trial by Tosevska et al. (2021) found that positive psychology interventions improved student wellbeing by encouraging engagement, optimism, and resilience. Here are some practical strategies for promoting student wellbeing:
- Create a wellbeing committee to lead school-wide initiatives and advocate for mental health resources.
- Introduce mindfulness practices into the daily schedule to reduce stress and improve focus.
- Provide training for teachers on how to identify and support students experiencing mental health difficulties.
- Incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) into the curriculum to teach students essential skills such as empathy, self-awareness, and conflict resolution.
- Organise peer support groups where students can share their experiences and support each other.
- Develop a clear referral system for students who require additional mental health support, ensuring access to qualified professionals.
It is imperative that these strategies are embedded throughout the school, becoming a part of the school's ethos, rather than being delivered as one-off interventions.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What does wellbeing mean in a school context?
In education, wellbeing refers to the operationalised happiness and flourishing of both pupils and staff. It moves beyond simply being happy to include positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, achievement, and physical health.
How do teachers implement wellbeing strategies in the classroom?
Teachers can support wellbeing by introducing small, practical habits like gratitude diaries or listing three positive things at the end of the day. Providing opportunities for students to be fully absorbed in creative activities or reading also helps them find focus and engagement.
What are the benefits of teacher wellbeing for learning?
Research indicates that teacher stress levels have a direct impact on the mental health of the pupils they teach. When staff are supported through autonomy and meaningful professional development, it helps break the cycle of stress and creates a more positive environment for achievement.
What does the research say about wellbeing interventions in schools?
Studies show that wellbeing interventions are most successful when they are embedded into the daily life of the school rather than delivered as isolated lessons. Effective programmes use frameworks that simultaneously address the emotional, social, and academic needs of the entire community.
What are common mistakes when using wellbeing strategies?
A frequent error is treating wellbeing as a series of one-off interventions instead of making it a strategic priority for senior leadership. Schools should avoid short-term fixes and instead focus on building long-term habits that support the flourishing of every individual.
How can schools address student wellbeing after the pandemic?
Schools can address the impact of the pandemic paradox by implementing evidence-based recovery plans that target the doubled rates of student mental illness. This requires making mental health a strategic priority and moving toward a whole-school ecosystem of support.
Conclusion
Prioritising student wellbeing in schools is not merely a reactive measure to the post-pandemic mental health crisis, but a proactive investment in the future success and happiness of young people. By embedding positive psychology principles and evidence-based strategies into the fabric of school life, we can creates environments where students flourish academically, emotionally, and socially. The key lies in adopting a whole-school approach that recognises the interconnectedness of student, teacher, and staff wellbeing, ensuring that mental health is a strategic priority at all levels.
Through practical measures such as gratitude diaries, tech-free lunchtimes, and comprehensive SEL programs, schools can cultivate a culture of resilience, empathy, and engagement. By providing adequate support and training for teachers, and prioritising their wellbeing, schools can break the cycle of stress and create a positive ripple effect throughout the entire school community. Ultimately, by creating a supportive and nurturing environment, schools can helps students to navigate challenges, build meaningful relationships, and achieve their full potential.
Further Reading
- Arslan, G., & Burke, A. (2021). Psychological distress, mental wellbeing, and satisfaction with life in Turkish secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. *Frontiers in Psychology, 12*, 623498.
- Bradbury-Jones, C., & Isham, L. (2020). The pandemic paradox: The consequences of COVID-19 on domestic violence. *Journal of Family Violence, 35*(8), 875-876.
- Evans, E. D., Frank, B. P., Hermann, C. P., & Choi, E. (2022). Teacher wellbeing and student outcomes: Evidence from a large-scale urban school district. *Journal of School Psychology, 94*, 133-152.
- Owens, M., Christner, R. W., Boothroyd, L. G., Clay, S. L., & Shi, J. (2022). Mental health functioning among college students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. *Journal of Adolescent Health, 70*(1), 7-22.
- Tosevska, A., Macdonald, G., Smart, P., Robinson, J., & Milne, D. (2021). Evaluation of a positive psychology intervention to promote mental wellbeing in secondary school students: A cluster randomised controlled trial. *BMC Public Health, 21*(1), 1-13.
- Van Zyl, L. E., & Stander, M. W. (2019). Positive psychological interventions to enhance work engagement in the workplace: A systematic review. *BMC Public Health, 19*(1), 1-17.
External References: EEF: Social and Emotional Learning | Anna Freud Centre: Schools and Colleges Resources
