FEATURE FOCUS: MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
that each may need a tailored solution to drive positive outcomes.
This means the movement is a coming together of schools and Trusts in a single community to drive change, share challenges, discuss solutions, and provide or seek support.
Although all schools are different, we’ve found one of the most powerful tools in the community is our Steps to Success guide which allows schools to find out how other schools have achieved success in their Well Schools vision. Hearing from your peers on how wellbeing transforms school life – and educational outcomes – is powerful.
What can a Well School achieve? The core belief is that happier teachers and happier children make for better learning environments and together deliver significant results across all metrics.
It is a belief that unless you remove the health and wellbeing barriers that persist in children’s lives, they will not achieve academically. Evidence shows that there is a clear link between higher levels of health and wellbeing and academic attainment as well as other educational outcomes. Particularly for pupils facing the greatest disadvantage.
A focus on health and wellbeing in schools can result in the following over time: • Increases in progress and attainment • Improvements in physical and mental health • Increased attendance • Higher self-efficacy • Increased motivation and engagement • Improved behaviour • Reduced exclusions • Improved job satisfaction • Increased staff retention
What does a Well School look and feel like? The only way to know what a Well School really looks like is to get to know one.
Flakefleet Primary is based in one of the UK’s most deprived towns but also a region with a strong community identity.
Part of that sense of community is driven by the school’s positive and innovative approach to learning which has catapulted it into the public spotlight.
Under the guidance of Head Teacher Dave McPartlin, the school has focused on happiness of staff and pupils, taking a Well Schools view on life and education.
It’s working. The school was named Happiest School in Britain at the National Happiness Awards and rated ‘Good with Outstanding
Features’ by Ofsted, showing that wellbeing and achievement go together.
Flakefleet also made national news when the school performed a song on Britain’s Got Talent and judge David Walliams was so impressed that he pressed his ‘golden buzzer’ to send them through.
They even made the charts with a Christmas single in which all pupils took part. In the wake of that, the school motto was changed to ‘Dare to Dream’ with children encouraged to believe in themselves and achieve their full potential.
Some of the tactics implemented by the school
include: • The introduction of a ‘nurture team’ to help children through problems. This includes a nurture room complete with soft furnishings, picnic benches and parasols. • Investment in enrichment – including Art and Music Rooms, Dance Studio, Children’s Kitchen, Wildlife Area and Radio Station as well as a focus on sport and play. • Embracing technology – every child from Year 2 upwards has their own iPad, with the school also utilising green screen technology. • Investment in staff development – with a particular focus on leadership and management • Clever use of social media – for instance a video by teachers on what they do when the children go home, which was a big hit on YouTube, and pupil-led videos to celebrate major events and drive team spirit. • A wide range of community links (such as a strong relationship with Fleetwood Hall Care Home) and quirky, fun activities to generate a positive environment. Even staff meetings are seen as fun – and have occasionally been held while toasting marshmallows around a fire pit. That sounds like the sort of school I would want my children to go to!
How to get started if you want to be like Flakefleet
The first step is to join the movement and talk to other schools, teachers and educational leaders. The next is to get started by finding out what your Well School could look like using the Steps to Success Guide.
Setting foundations for a school with well 28
www.education-today.co.uk
culture, that is well led, well prepared and well equipped is key. Only then is it possible to deliver an environment in which pupils are happier. If all this sounds daunting, then be assured there is help available from schools within the movement. Their experiences and stories are what drive other Head Teachers to join. David McPartlin is best placed to answer how it’s done.
He said: “I’d probably start with some reflection. What we’ve done at Flakefleet has worked for us but might not work for everyone. “Knowing yourself, where you’re at, what your strengths and skills are and what the community needs are important.
“My best advice is that if you’re going to do something, do it properly. Respond to the needs of the community while knowing your strengths. “I’ve been here six years and we started by clarifying expectations, changing policies and changing our mission values to put happiness and wellbeing at the heart of what we do. “We’ve created as school in which we feel like family – and we expect each another to act that way.
“That means the mental health and wellbeing of the children and staff must be more important than anything else.
“There are people out there who think it’s all woolly and fluffy and it doesn’t make any difference, which is ridiculous! Some of our children have had a very tough life, it’s realising what some of those kids are carrying around in their head.
“We all know that when we have a good night’s sleep, we’re in a good place where we feel on top of things. That’s when we can make a difference, that’s when we can do the best job. Why is that any difference for children?” Dave’s commitment to happiness and wellbeing in school has been nationally recognised, and there has never been a better time to follow in his footsteps.
We need to redesign the way our schools operate – and put health and wellbeing right at the heart of it.
To join the Well Schools movement, go to
uwww.well-school.org
September 2022
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