A Whole School Approach to Wellbeing.
Let's develop a whole school approach to wellbeing by putting all the pieces together.
When considering a review of wellbeing in your school, what factors do you believe make up the complete picture? When I talk to schools, many are reluctant to talk about anything other than student wellbeing. They believe the focus on increasing student wellbeing is the priority and that is where their attention is focused. I don’t discredit this focus, but I do believe it is only one part of the picture we need to consider. Without looking at other factors, we don’t have an holistic overview of wellbeing and often the other areas which may need further enhancement to support student wellbeing.
So what are the pieces of a wellbeing puzzle?
Have you considered:
How your environment supports wellbeing?
How your policies and practices support wellbeing?
How to best support staff (community) wellbeing?
How social and emotional learning can enhance wellbeing?
When we consider the individual pieces of the wellbeing picture, we often become involved in discussions concerning issues or factors which are seen to be difficult or unachievable to change. I find many schools talk about external demands and pressures placed on them from members of the larger education community. I believe if we are prepared to truly affect change on our wellbeing status, we need to have these difficult conversations. As educators we have growing concerns for the welfare of students and the longevity of our profession, doesn’t that mean something has to change?
Take a step back from our day to day classroom operations and look at the structures, belief and values which underpin our schools, we are able to see how all pieces of the picture can impact the wellbeing of all members of the school community. The students are the products of our systems, I suggest we focus on enhancing each part of the bigger picture, which ultimately supports the students.
Written by Bron Gowty
For more information about wellbeing, send Bron an email.
Bron Gowty is an end of life guide, kinesiologist and spiritual carer who has been working with children for more than 20 years in schools and with children and adults in a clinic setting for 8 years.