Researchers
Professor Lyndal Bond, Professor Daniel Wight, Dr
Marion Henderson, Paul Ballard
Background/Aim
The school environment can affect young people
beyond their capacity to learn and succeed
academically. There is evidence suggesting that
changing a school’s climate or ethos can affect a
number of health and wellbeing outcomes including
substance abuse and anti-social behaviour. However,
these effects are not currently well understood,
particularly within the Scottish educational context.
Our study aimed to assess current approaches to
improving school ethos in Scottish secondary schools
at a whole school level and examine the feasibility of
evaluating such approaches.
Project Outline/Methodology
In order to better understand the contextual factors
surrounding school ethos and health and wellbeing
we conducted qualitative interviews with 15 people
who have responsibility for implementing and
supporting education policy within Scotland, including
members of Education Scotland and education
officials in six Local Authorities. From these
interviews we identified four promising secondary
case study schools. In these schools we interviewed a
further 25 respondents including classroom teachers,
senior management and support staff.
Key Results
School ethos was seen as fundamental not only to
health and wellbeing but also to academic
attainment. We found a strong policy and education
context within Scotland for the development of
approaches to improve ethos and a wide and varied
range of promising current practices. However, there
were challenges for schools due to the non-
prescriptive nature of the Scottish curriculum.
Evaluation was accepted as necessary and desirable
although little evidence was found to suggest that
evaluation is routinely an integral part of educational
developments.
Case study schools demonstrated a range of
promising practices at whole school, classroom and
individual level. These practices and activities focused
on improving relationships, engaging pupils in school
and fostering a strong, safe community environment
rather than implementation of stand alone health and
wellbeing programmes.
Conclusions
A wide range of approaches to improve school ethos
was found along with a strong need to prioritise
health and wellbeing in secondary schools. Practices
in schools were focused on creating a supportive
environment for their students and staff rather than
implementation of programmes. No individual
programme was identified that was ready for rigorous
evaluation.
What does this study add to the field?
Many of the practices identified in this study are
closely related to the literature on school
connectedness, engagement and attachment
although schools themselves may not clearly
articulate this link between practice and theory.
Implications for practice or policy
This study, as with others, indicates that we may
need to rethink or move away from considering the
development and evaluation of discrete programmes
or packages to improve ethos, to developing
approaches that facilitate schools’ capacity to
explicitly choose, implement and reflect on evidence-
based practices or practices aligned to relevant
theories.
Where to next
This study has led to the development, and funding,
of a five year trial of Social Emotional Education and
Development (SEED) in Scottish Primary schools
which focuses on providing schools with local data
about their students and supporting schools to
choose activities and build on their practices to
address the needs identified in the data at the whole
school, classroom and individual level.
Further details from
Professor Lyndal Bond
MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit
4 Lilybank Gardens
G12 8RZ
Email: [email protected]
Whole school interventions addressing multiple adolescent risk behaviours:
a feasibility study
Chief Scientist Office, St Andrews House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG Tel:0131 244 2248
www.cso.scot.nhs.uk
Scottish Government Health Directorates Chief Scientist Office
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