1 Wellbeing and character education

Chapter overview

This opening chapter sets the case for wellbeing and character education as part of the curriculum and as a curriculum in themselves.

Areas discussed ● The defi nition of wellbeing in terms of the culture and relationships in the school and how wellbeing forms part of the culture lived and generated by the school as a place of learning ● A brief exploration of character education, considering a sometimes political side to it, but ultimately bringing together its theme as one with humanity and universal human values at its heart ● A reminder of what curriculum is and what it should look like for our children if we wish them to lead lives as caring and empathetic members of society Page 10

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Wellbeing and character education are natural partners, not in the sense of being ‘soft’ subjects, but in terms of the ways in which they can support the core structure of the education of the whole child as an individual, as a member of society and as a global citizen. This, I believe, represents a broader view of what defi nes ‘success’ for our children. Many believe that character education, as much as a wellbeing curriculum, needs to be at the heart of the culture, values and vision of the school. In her LeAF (Learn and Flourish) model, Frederika Roberts places academic attainment, staff and student wellbeing, and a wellbeing curriculum, as elements of wholeschool positive and character education, supported by roots including culture and relationships (Roberts, 2020 ). Though we all wish our children to perform well academically, the wealth of their education will be gained from being able to thrive in life and add to the wellbeing of their communities. By taking a whole-school

approach to character and wellbeing development, beginning from Early Years, we can prepare children for a life journey that will see them engage the core values that will make them empathetic adults. In doing so, teachers will need to exemplify and communicate the most positive character traits in the ways they interact with their pupils, families and other stakeholders.

Defi ning wellbeing for children

Wellbeing is about physical and mental health, and within this defi nition will fall human happiness. However, is there more to life than happiness? Adrian Bethune and I have discussed this often, and Adrian outlines the diff erences between subjective and psychological wellbeing: one’s own assessment of what life satisfaction is, as opposed to a sense of meaning and purpose in life (Bethune, 2018 ). Individual actions, events or accomplishments might make us happy: a funny joke, an amusing cat video, sporting success for a favourite team or individual. The impact of such may be instantaneous and short-lived. It is the belief of some positive psychologists that happiness and meaning sustain each other (Seligman, 2011 ) and that the search for happiness accompanies the search for meaning in life (Baumeister, 1992 ). Happiness, in the truest sense, is long-term, sustained and lifelong. Wellbeing in school isn’t a tick-box exercise, for adults or children, nor should it be compartmentalised as ‘happiness lessons’ separate from the rest of the children’s learning. If we are going to seriously consider wellbeing as part of the curriculum, we need to place it where it will nourish and nurture, challenge and confront, extend and enlarge the educational and life experiences of our children. It must underpin, not undermine, the wider curriculum and teaching and learning as a whole.

Wellbeing is empathetic and honest

As teachers, we all wish to ensure that our pupils go on to lead accepting, caring, successful and safe futures. An empathetic classroom is the potential breeding ground for this, provided that the adults before the class model empathy for the children. Consistent modelling of empathy, in dealing with the day-to-day minutiae of the classroom, as well as the challenges arising from behaviour and fallings-out, enables children to develop genuine feelings of trust in their adults. The classroom should be a place to acknowledge mistakes, to discuss feelings and emotions, and to build them into the learning process. The classroom and playground may become the places where children have their fi rst introduction outside of the family to those of a diff erent gender, race,

faith or age, through the people they meet and by the learning experiences they have. This initial educational encounter with diversity and diff erence is essential to the development of meaning and purpose in life.

Wellbeing is collective

Teamwork is at the core of good staff wellbeing, so should apply equally to children too. ‘Tribal classrooms’, with their collective spirit often indicated by ‘class fl ags’ (Bethune, 2018 ), demonstrate a positive bond in the primary classroom. I have taught some great classes, and the very best of these have shown a sense of team spirit in both their attitude to learning and academic progress, but also in the ways in which they support each other. Building from the empathetic and honest classroom, and the strength of community outside of school, a class of 30 children can be a force for good: in their relationships with each other, the ways in which they stand up for their friends and the ways in which they challenge perceived injustices. My classes that have performed best academically have always had the strength of collaboration behind them. I don’t believe they would have achieved so much without this.

Wellbeing is routine

Children thrive on routine. It brings comfort and consistency, security and selfdiscipline. Life, of course, isn’t consistent, and change is a part of life that needs to be built into a child’s learning experience. Having a regular routine, as any parent will attest to from domestic experience, is essential to the smooth running of any primary classroom, creating a familiar pattern of key events during each day and through the week. Wellbeing can be built into this routine, whether it manifests itself in mindfulness activities or in managing behaviour and reward. Routine and consistent use of the behaviour management policy, both for reward and sanction, are important for a sense of calm and purpose in the classroom; where behaviour isn’t wellmanaged, relationships in class can become fragile and challenging. The most successful teachers don’t need to raise their voices; the most trusting children build that trust through the knowledge that rules and reward will be applied fairly and consistently. Routine is also fundamental to good learning, providing the security and confi dence that children know what is expected of them in their work in lessons and behaviour, both within and outside the classroom. If they are unsure, uncertainty creeps in, which is not conducive to good emotional health. Regular

Wellbeing and character education

repeated language, in a meaningful social context, embeds that language in the memory and encourages its active use. Turn-taking, predictable and familiar skills, the building of confi dence and a sense of responsibility: each supports the development of a sense of community and builds social and emotional skills. Routines bring confi dence and reassurance, which are both at the heart of the wellbeing development that our young children need.

Wellbeing is part of good relationships and school culture

Without good relationships, there is no supportive culture in any workplace. In a school, poor relationships in the working environment are diffi cult enough for staff to deal with and are soon detected by the children. Without good staff wellbeing, there is little hope for the children’s happiness and emotional health. In our positive culture, the wellbeing values I have written of previously (celebration, collaboration, respect, trust, support, perseverance and resilience, courage, empathy and time) apply equally to children as much as to the adults they work with. A commitment to wellbeing needs to be in the ethos of the primary school and be apparent from the moment the children arrive in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and continue until their rite of passage to secondary school. The expectations of behaviour, and how it is managed and rewarded, together with how the children work and play with one another, are essential components of the social skills that they need to progress through life. Children will arrive with diff erent experiences, backgrounds, language development and other needs, but on their fi rst entry to school we can start to furnish them with consistent values and morals within the culture the school embodies. Through assemblies, conduct in the corridors and the playground, interactions with teaching assistants and midday staff , as well as their experiences in the classroom with their teacher, children will be exposed to many positive encounters. These infl uences, consistently applied, will determine the positive culture that we would wish our children to experience.

The place of character education alongside wellbeing

There is nothing new about ‘character education’, either in a British or in a global context. Character and virtues date back to the likes of Aristotle and Confucius, and beyond. From the latter half of the twentieth century, character education has