To be a successful learner, a pupil needs to have the right mindset and motivation to want to learn. Without it, the best teachers and facilities in the world are not going to have the intended outcome of delivering a successful education, because the lessons being taught either won’t be accepted or they simply won’t stick in the mind of the pupil. This is the principle reason why wellbeing is such a vital and growing part of our educational process at Wellington. We truly believe in developing the whole child, not simply concentrating on their academic progress and successes. Although our pupils are attending an excellent educational facility, our aim is not necessarily to turn them all into geniuses. Our aim is to give our children the skills and the tools to become the best version of themselves.
Our approach to wellbeing at the bilingual school looks at the whole of the child’s personality, and develops their physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Children need to be secure in themselves; developing strategies to process, acknowledge and manage their own thoughts, feelings and behaviour. This is a process that needs to start early on to allow teaching and character formation to be as effective as possible right from the early years and throughout their educational journey. As you might expect, everything we do with regards to wellbeing is linked to the five Wellington values, as they are extremely important for young children to understand to grow as individuals as well as allowing them to communicate and interact positively in any social situation. The importance of these values applies whether they are at home, with family members, out in public, or anywhere else they happen to be. These are values they are being taught to recognise, understand and demonstrate in the wider world.
Given the young age of our pupils, our approach to wellbeing concentrates on kindness, respect, responsibility and courage. While integrity is just as important as the other four values, it’s also a very difficult concept for younger pupils to grasp. We use visual reinforcement and a system of recognising and rewarding acts which demonstrate one of the values. For example, pupils who have done something particularly kind, such as comforting a sad friend, would be given a kindness sticker. The response from children has been hugely encouraging, especially as the stickers aren’t given out lightly, so their actions must go above and beyond in order for them to get one! Similarly, as you enter the bilingual setting you’ll see that the Wellington values are everywhere. We’ve brought in lots of different images for our wall displays to match the respective values, such as our examples of good manners, which demonstrate respect and kindness. These two methods combined provide our young pupils with useful, easily understandable examples of the values and what they mean. Although wellbeing is in its early stages here at the bilingual setting, already we’re finding that the children are actively thinking and talking about the values while also thinking of new ways to show them.
Another facet of wellbeing which has already seen great results is our introduction of yoga activities. We’ve started with very simple, basic techniques in EY1 which help our youngest children develop their motor skills, while gradually increasing its scope and challenge level leading up to EY4. So far, the reaction from the children has been overwhelmingly positive, as they now recognise that it’s a good way for them to calm down after high-energy activities, reset, focus and be ready for learning time. For the older ones, we’re currently introducing some very basic facets of meditation in our “quiet time” sessions, where pupils enjoy relaxing, soothing sounds and images. Like everything we do at Wellington, wellbeing doesn’t stop being important outside of the setting. It’s also vital to ensure that wellbeing is observed and encouraged at home, especially given the young age of our pupils. Therefore, we work very closely with parents through direct consultation and email communication, informing them of what we are doing to develop their child’s wellbeing in the setting. In return, parents communicate with us about what is happening at home, in case there’s anything we need to know or if there’s anything we can do to help. Together, we discuss and develop all elements of the children’s wellbeing at home; from establishing helpful routines and bedtimes, to maintaining polite manners and etiquette, or even tackling problems that can negatively affect wellbeing.
Pupils and parents have displayed incredible enthusiasm in response to our early efforts in improving wellbeing throughout the school. Wellbeing is an essential part of preparing our children for the personal and academic challenges they will continually encounter during their years of education and for the rest of their lives. Encouragingly, we’ve had no shortage of anecdotal evidence from parents that suggests it’s already taking root here, and we look forward to expanding the wellbeing programme further.
