Wellbeing is key to learning
Children need to be happy to learn, says ASHLEY BENNETT, Assistant Headteacher, Ysgol Emmanuel in Rhyl. Here he explains how health and wellbeing is the ethos at his school
At Ysgol Emmanuel in Rhyl, we believe the primary purpose of education is to awaken a love of learning in young people and to give all pupils the ability and desire to carry on learning throughout life.
We are a large Welsh primary school located on the coast of north Wales in an area of high social deprivation. Some of our children face a variety of social and economic factors that can impact on their general attitude towards school, learning and in some cases, life. Consequently, a key priority for us at Ysgol Emmanuel is to ensure that our children are happy and want to learn whilst having enough resilience to do so.
Put simply, health and wellbeing is the ethos of our school.
As a learning environment, we appreciate the importance of assessment to monitor academic progression. However, as a nurturing environment with a drive for developing independent and confident learners, we just as importantly recognise the priority for pupil wellbeing and identifying attitudes towards school, learning and life.
Here in Wales, we are currently undergoing an educational reform thanks to the “Successful Futures” report which puts the Donaldson pedagogy at the foundation for a curriculum. The report bids to develop ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives; enterprising creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work; ethical informed citizens of Wales and the world; and healthy, confident individuals ready to live fulfilling lives as valued members of society.
It places a heavy emphasis on health and wellbeing, which form one of the report’s six pillars of learning and experience.
While the new Welsh curriculum is still developing and will not be statutory until 2020, as a school we have fully adopted the four key aims of delivering teaching and learning which promotes the principles of the Donaldson ethos.
While we were able to revolutionise our curriculum in all areas, the concept of creating “healthy and confident individuals” who are “ambitious and capable learners” raised a key question to myself as Assessment Lead as well as the senior management team: how do we, as a school, measure the impact that this curriculum and ethos has on pupil attitude and resilience? More importantly, how can we identify those who need further support in order to achieve this?
As part of Denbighshire Local Authority, this question was answered. As a county, all schools complete PASS both at primary and secondary level. So, back in September, our staff rolled out PASS from Reception to Year 6 and then eagerly awaited the outcome. As we opened the data sheet with interested breath, a spectrum of green, orange and red became visible.
Now with an Assessment Lead hat on, the data analysis started, as well as the questions – after all, all data does is pose questions! What became apparent through the PASS data were the headlines that could be made in relation to the different areas relating to wellbeing.
What made some children, genders, FSM pupils or pupils with Additional Learning Needs have different attitudes towards areas such as “self-regard”?
After many discussions at senior management team level and then with teachers and teaching assistants, we came up with a battle plan. Those children who came out with an amber or red score in relation to areas such as “self-regard” would be the children that would need our nurture-based interventions the most. After all, this is what the data was suggesting when combined with teacher judgement.
At Ysgol Emmanuel, we always look for best practice to support our learners.
Recent projects such as mindfulness and growth mindset have been developed across the school to promote health and wellbeing. This is now used by both pupils and staff three times a day within school. As a school, we are finding techniques such as these are helping to counterattack the amber and red colours from the PASS data, and more importantly, equip pupils with techniques that can be used across life to promote wellbeing.
Our skilled teachers and teaching assistants also deploy various nurture-based interventions such as Forest School, Coastal School, “Dinoschool for self-esteem” as well as “Seasons for Growth” to promote each individual’s confidence within learning and themselves. These are targeted at those who data and teacher voice highlight.
Our qualitative data from pupil voice and formative assessment suggests that these interventions are helping to develop areas relating to self-worth.
However, we look forward to the summer term where we will complete the second PASS data testing to compare the scores of individuals who were identified as needing support in these areas.
■ Ashley Bennett is Assistant Headteacher, Ysgol Emmanuel, Rhyl, Denbighshire