Wellbeing should be timetabled alongside English and Maths, study suggests

A recent article published in The Telegraph recommended schools have a Head of Wellbeing. HKS have benefitted from the appointment of a Head of Wellbeing since January 2017. Mrs Stooksbury, has a background of safeguarding and child protection and oversees the wellbeing area of all pupils, staff and indeed parents. Since appointment, Mrs Stooksbury has up-skilled in a plethora of related courses, including domestic violence, bereavement, and bullying. She also attended a course in Youth Mental Health First Aid which has given her the skills to counsel pupils and suggest ways to increase their resilience to everyday challenges. She is also a CEOP ( Child Exploitation and Online Protection) Ambassador and monitors and records all web based activity within the school. Regular intervention within the classroom takes place with Mrs Stooksbury, for example, talking about mindfulness, wellbeing, online safety and anti-bullying. She is readily available for individual or small group chats, discussions and advice. She has an email wellbeing@hkschool.org.uk that we encourage pupils to use to send confidential messages or more general conversation. At our school we all work together to promote wellbeing. PSHCE and enrichment lessons give pupils opportunities to rehearse life skills needed for the future. Twice a year all staff and pupils complete a wellbeing survey and results are collated and discussions had with pupils or staff who score below the average mark. Hopefully from that conversation any problems can be helped. As a member of the senior leadership team, Mrs Stooksbury has responsibility for sharing concerns or patterns of behaviour that need addressing or responding to at senior level. She is highly valued and a key member of the school staff.