Wellbeing

Our Wellbeing programme underpins school life and is central to promoting the pupils’ happiness and enjoyment. We believe that a healthy sense of wellbeing is the cornerstone of creating curious, interested and kind young people. The relationships fostered between the pupils and our staff are central to this, reinforced by the topics explored within Wellbeing lessons and assemblies.

All Junior School pupils have one 55-minute Wellbeing lesson each week. The Wellbeing curriculum is comprised of three strands: Relationships and Emotional Wellbeing, Living in the Wider World, and Health and Wellbeing. Lessons are tailored to the needs of the year group or class but common themes are repeated throughout the Junior School, often relating to the Junior School values. Circle time is sometimes used in lessons to develop trust, empathy and respect, and it is a time to share issues that concern the pupils as well as valuing differences, managing difficult emotions and developing self-esteem.

As well as curricular Wellbeing lessons, assemblies are often used to promote Wellbeing topics such as living a healthy lifestyle, empathy, mental health, resilience and making good choices. Every Friday, within our celebration assembly, leaves are added to our kindness tree when boys nominate each other for acts of kindness. The kindness tree – built specially for us by the Upper School DT club – takes pride of place in the Junior School hall and is integral to our ethos.

As part of the Wellbeing curriculum, pupils work together to learn about local issues and identify actions so that they develop their understanding of their community as responsible, caring citizens. This culminates in every year group completing a community action project, for example: organising food collections and delivering the provisions to local foodbanks, or organising and hosting a tea party for residents of local care homes. It is vital that our pupils begin to understand their place within the community and that they appreciate the positive impact that serving others can have on the wider world.