School climate and ethos

Develop and implement a whole school approach to children’s social and emotional wellbeing.

Head teachers, governors and teachers should demonstrate a commitment to the social and emotional wellbeing of young people. They should provide leadership in this area by ensuring social and emotional wellbeing features within plans, policies, systems and activities. These should all be monitored and evaluated.

Foster an ethos that promotes mutual respect, learning and successful relationships among young people and staff. Create a culture of inclusiveness and communication that ensures all young people's concerns can be addressed (including the concerns of those who may be at particular risk of poor mental health).

All secondary schools should:

• Create an ethos and conditions that support positive behaviours for learning and for successful relationships
• Provide an emotionally secure and safe environment that prevents any form of bullying or violence
• Share and agree a school definition of ‘social and emotional wellbeing’ and ‘mental health problems’
• Promote pupil voice and peer learning
• Promote the well-being of staff and address staff stress
• Collect data about needs, Identify gaps in current practice and opportunities for development
• Involve young people and staff in planning and developing practice
• Involve parents, carers and families
• Support all pupils and, where appropriate, their parents or carers (including adults with responsibility for looked after children)
• Provide specific help for those children most at risk (or already showing signs) of social, emotional and behavioural problems
• Include social and emotional wellbeing in key policies, including a whole school behaviour policy, teaching and learning, assessment, recording and reporting
• Consolidate what works, stopping what doesn’t