Social Wellbeing

1705 Words7 Pages
For too long, health education in schools has been largely centred on the physical aspects of health. With the development of a new national curriculum already underway, it is imperative that all dimensions of health and wellbeing are considered to give students the best opportunity to learn. What a child experiences during their transition into primary school has the potential to influence their future attitudes to learning and in turn, their educational success. The terms ‘social and emotional wellbeing’ and ‘mental health’ will be used interchangeably throughout this essay, depending on the context, as most definitions of ‘mental health’ include the terms ‘social wellbeing’ and ‘emotional wellbeing’ (Weare, 2000). If a student’s social and…show more content…
Good emotional wellbeing stems from a positive sense of self that develops from feeling valued, secure, confident, respected and cared about, and being able to reciprocate such feelings as well self-managing emotions. (Bulkeley & Fabian, 2006) A lack of social and emotional wellbeing limits the ability to build relationships and form a strong sense of belonging. It has been shown that emotional and social growth and development in the early years can affect the wellbeing, health and confidence of students throughout their life (Barblett & Maloney, 2010). Primary school provides an excellent context for developing social and emotional wellbeing as well as a sense of belonging, as they are able to provide a supportive and positive environment for students, as well as predictability and stability. The following will explore the idea that a focus on social and emotional wellbeing in the early years is essential for students to become good learners and well-rounded citizens, while outlining the challenges, motivators, barriers and facilitators experienced by teachers and students in the primary education…show more content…
(Dix, Slee, Lawson, & Keeves, 2012) Wyn, Cahill, Holdsworth, Rowling, & Carson (2000) developed MindMatters as a national framework for promoting mental health in Australian schools. MindMatters addresses the need for teachers to be confident and comfortable while advocating and teaching for mental health by providing curriculum and professional development programs as well as educational resources. This is especially beneficial as many of the teachers who participated in the pilot program identified professional development as an encouraging and motivating factor. Wyn et al, (2000) stress the need for a whole-school approach to create a safe and supportive school environment to encourage positive mental health and maximise opportunities for learning, however, it was noted that the whole school approach was challenging for some of the pilot schools as it required them to address school ethos and environment as well as policies and practices (Wyn et al, 2000). It is my opinion that a whole school approach has the best chance of success for students to be able to continually monitor and develop their social and emotional wellbeing, and to prevent risk factors such as
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