Product reviews for The Wellbeing Effect

This book is a narrative of respect, hope and common sense. It tells the tale of a school in a severely deprived area of England that decided, after many years of trying and failing to raise standards, to take a risk and do things differently. And it paid off.

This book exemplifies what many educators have always known. Wellbeing and school improvement are not an either/or dichotomy but two sides of the same endeavour and when both are in place, provide a positive spiral upwards, each reinforcing the other. Our kids and their future deserve no less.

In many UK schools, education has been a one-way street with teachers delivering prescribed information in the expectation that kids will take it in – and then regurgitate it at specific times. The prize for this endeavour is a school getting a good or even an outstanding Ofsted report. The unintended consequences for pupils and teachers have, however, been writ large in headlines about absenteeism, behavioural challenges, high levels of anxiety and other mental health concerns, teacher attrition and a widening gap in educational outcomes between different communities. The ‘good’ and ‘clever’ kids from supportive, comfortable homes probably do OK academically under this regime, but even privileged students have struggled with a lack of agency, creativity, collaboration and respect. For many children it has undermined a love of learning.

Wellbeing can be an elusive concept in education, but one thing is for sure, it does not exist in a single intervention, however well meant, but in what happens all day, every day for everyone. It is about engaging children as active learners with ideas of their own, acknowledging the strengths and experiences they bring with them but also opening their minds and hearts to challenges. Many who fear failure lack confidence, so mistakes need to be built in as steps to learning. Wanting to get better at things is part of healthy child development and doing things together is much more fun, so it is not surprising that the approaches espoused in this school have seen pupils flourish and fly.

So what did head teacher Andy and teachers in this school do that made the difference? Give yourself a treat and read on.