Schools that involve the whole school community in developing a culture of wellbeing see the greatest benefits for children, young people and staff.
One well-conducted review in the US summarised research on 207 social and emotional interventions, and suggested that schools with effective wellbeing programmes showed an 11%improvement in achievement tests, a 25 per cent improvement in social and emotional skills, and a 10% decrease in classroom misbehaviour, anxiety and depression.
In a nutshell, the benefits of a whole school approach include:
- Improved pupil wellbeing.
- Improved staff wellbeing and retention.
- Improved academic learning.
- Strong link to improving school’s overall effectiveness.
- Development of social and emotional skills.
- Prevention of MH problems.
- Improved school behaviour - reduction in fights, bullying, exclusions and absence.