A FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT

EMOTIONAL WELLBEING& MENTAL HEALTH

DURING & AFTER LOCKDOWN

support individuals, families and wider groups andenable them to ‘move on’ beyond the experiences wehave all sharedmaintain or increase the sense of engagement,community and belonging felt by staff, pupils andwider familiesbuild on the positives and new types of relationshipsdevelopedensure a continued and proactive approach to staffwellbeing.

This guidance has been written to help schools thinkabout possible ways forward in terms of the emotionalwellbeing and mental health of their pupils and staffover the next few months. It is based on best practiceand the research and experiences of the authors. The main goals that schools should be working towardsfrom a wellbeing perspective are to:

A GUIDE FORSCHOOLS

Malcolm GoddardMark JennettColin Noble

1.KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THESCHOOL COMMUNITY

regular phone calls (some schools havemanaged weekly for all/vulnerable pupils)videos and online messagesvirtual assembliesdoorstep deliveries or visits with a wave challenges or team videos (e.g. pass the toiletroll, creating a rainbow)anything where the pupil and wider family cansee your face and hear you talka short weekly or daily pre-filmed video check-in which can be emailed.

It is vital that both pupils and staff have a sense ofbelonging with their school. This can help mitigateagainst separation, disengagement anddisconnection. Many schools will have activelykept in touch with their pupils during lockdown,through activities such as:

How does it support any new oremerging issues of emotionalwellbeing and mental health? Do any gaps or weaknesses inprovision exist?

2. REVIEW YOURWELLBEING ANDMENTAL HEALTHPROVISION IN LIGHTOF THE LOCKDOWN

 Consider how all pupils and familiescould be involved in sharing theirpriorities and how the school couldaddress some of these concerns. Consider how the needs of theschool community might change (e.g.there may be a need to have swifterand quicker access to bereavementcounselling and/or greater awarenesstraining for staff). There may be a need for assembliesand the curriculum to focus on socialskills and other aspects of emotionalliteracy.

Links with Objective 2:The school has a clear vision and

strategy for promoting and protectingemotional wellbeing and mental

health, which is communicated to allinvolved with the school.

provide a warm welcome for pupils intothe classroom and parents on the gatethrough posters, balloons and buntingif appropriate

run a ‘welcome back’ week – or a seriesof them. Involve children and pupils inthe planning and execution and don’tforget those who have yet to return forhealth, family or travel reasons

encourage senior leaders to visitclassrooms to add their welcome andcheck in with pupils

celebrate the value of pupils’ workduring lockdown, highlighting anyachievements or successes 

mark any endings properly andappropriately (e.g. any losses, staffmoving on, Year 6 leaving).

As a school, you can:

An exhibition of home learning might be agreat idea. Or you might like to build up apiece of artwork to add to as pupils return, maybe a rainbow on the schoolgates or a collage in the hall or even apainting around the playground. Becreative but build up something that showsthe community reforming visually.

provide a forum to hear their concerns –either in person or remotelyprovide regular updates. Some schoolsare doing these through a video whichparents seem to really appreciate.

provide lots of (socially distant)opportunities for reconnection

celebrate the reopening and reforming ofa community in classes and possibly as awider school. Consider how to include thewhole school in this (e.g. issues such assiblings who are not at school together asthey usually are).

communicate to those not yet back thatyou look forward to welcoming them too

develop a  focus on ativities which buildconnection and belonging and supportthe re-establishing of relationships.

3. PLAN FOR AWELCOMINGTRANSITION  Ensuring that everyone feels safe is going tobe more important than any new learning. Clear leadership, through providinginformation and listening to the concerns ofstakeholders, will help prepare and supportall involved.  For parents, you can:

 For pupils, you can:

 

4. COMMUNICATE YOURSTRATEGY FOR COPING WITHWELLBEING AND MENTALHEALTH ISSUES TO THEWHOLE-SCHOOL Consider using pre-filmed videos tocommunicate with all stakeholders. Writtencommunications, whilst important, may notmaintain connection and belonging with pupilsand families in the same way. Make sure you include relevant informationprominently on the school website. For families and other stakeholders whocannot access the internet, make additionalprovision through text messages, emails,newsletters or in-person meetings. All information should be regularly refreshed andupdated.

a general awareness of the issuesfacing the schoolthe implications and possible newrequirements of staff by role.

5. PROVIDE TRAININGFOR STAFF ON THEEMOTIONALWELLBEING ANDMENTAL HEALTHIMPLICATIONS ANDCONSEQUENCES OFTHE LOCKDOWN  Ensure that all staff are confident tohelp pupils and pupils (includingthose with SEND)develop the skillsand attitudes necessary to keepthemselves and others safeboth at school and in the widerworld. Consider additional stafftraining (e.g.in trauma-informedpractice or emotion coaching) andhow this would help to developrelationships and support the pupils. The nature of the training may varydepending on the characteristics ofthe school and the role of the staff,but it might include:

 For example, if there is a need toincrease the amount of distancelearning then teachers andTAs need to be trained in specificpedagogical techniques; if there is aneed for increased intensity anddifferent chemicals used in a deepclean the cleaners and caretakers willneed specific training about that.

Links with Objective 5:The school prioritises professionallearning and staff development on

emotional wellbeing and mentalhealth.

introduce something like ‘atunement’at the beginning of each lesson wheneverybody sits in silence for a minutepreparing themselves mentally andemotionally for the lesson

ask class teachers to consider thingslike ‘feelings trees’ or ‘emotion graphs’to be completed by everyone before thestart of each half day session

discuss the issues of lockdown and thepandemic in citizenship lessons (e.g.human rights, our responsibilities toothers). This may be particularlyimportant while some lockdownrestrictions remain to ensure that allmembers of the school community havethe knowledge they need to keep eachother safe.

discuss and decide if you canstrengthen the teaching of emotionalliteracy in PSHE and other subjects.

Take time to consider how learning relatedto wellbeing can be enhanced andembedded. For example:

7. ESTABLISH A NEW'NORMAL'

6. PROVIDE SIGNPOSTSTO APPROPRIATE ONLINEHELP FOR PUPILS, STAFFAND FAMILIES WITHEMOTIONAL AND MENTALHEALTH NEEDS STEMMINGFROM THE LOCKDOWN  You could look to provide a websitedirectory, or a list of trusted online resourcesused by the school, including any recent andrelevant ones addressing the possible impactof the lockdown. You may not need to change what is alreadyin place on your website or around theschool. But there may be a need to makeinformation more prominent (e.g. on thelanding page of the website) or increase thenumber of notices in school. Or there may bea need to include new helplines (e.g. thoseprovided by local or national government orfood banks or faith groups).  

Links with Objective 6:The school understands the different

types of emotional and mental healthneeds across the school and has

systems in place to respondappropriately.

8. FOCUS ON STAFF WELLBEING Make sure you are aware of the possible emotional and mental health issues for all staffstemming from the lockdown. This can be done through discursive meetings or staff having a1:1 with their line manager/mentor and/or coach to discuss their emotional wellbeing andmental health.

Links with Objective 4:The school actively promotes staff emotionalwellbeing and mental health.

You could survey staff andmiddle leaders on a regularbasis to monitor the extentto which they feel awareand equipped to deal withthe emotional and mentalhealth issues associatedwith the lockdown. Makesure you include staff’sown needs as part of thesurveys.

team meetings with a ‘wellbeing check in’ for the first 5-10 minutesregular updates to keep staff informedspecial deliveries to the home of any vulnerable staff by post or in personencouraging staff to communicate directly with each other using social media and videoconferencing tools, with team leaders sharing best practicesocial activities for all staff online (e.g. quizzes).

Ensure that staff workloads are closely monitored both during and after lockdown. Considerproviding more public forums such as open discussions to ensure that all staff haveopportunities to share their concerns and ensure that these concerns are acted upon. Consider whether counselling and other targeted provision needs to be reviewed or enhanced,for example, is bereavement counselling routinely available to staff? Try to ensure that CPDincludes relevant support for staff’s own wellbeing. Think about how these other suggestions could help you focus on staff wellbeing, whilst alsomaintaining connection and a sense of belonging:

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

INTRODUCING THE WELLBEING AWARD FOR SCHOOLS

Colin was a history/PEteacher before becoming a

PSHE adviser, coordinator ofthe National Healthy Schools

Programme and senioradviser to the Behaviour and

Attendance Programme of theNational Strategies.

Colin is an adviser on the

Wellbeing Award for Schools.

C O L I NN O B L E

Mark is a trainer, consultantand writer specializing inwork around equality and

diversity (in particular genderand sexualities equalities),

bullying,behaviour, emotional health

and PSHE.

Mark is Lead Adviser for theWellbeing Award for Schools.

M A R K J E N N E T T

Malcolm is anexperienced education

consultant, having worked asan outstanding primary

headteacher,school improvement advisor,consultant headteacher andLocal Leader of Education.

Malcolm is an adviser on the

Wellbeing Award for Schools.

M A L C O L MG O D D A R D

This award focuses on changing the long-termculture of the whole school.

Using an evidence-based framework to drive

change, it will help you deliver staff and pupilwellbeing, review your staff training, and revise

your policies.

This award will ensure that mental health andwellbeing sit at the heart of your school life.

Find out more at

https://www.awardplace.co.uk/award/was