Boost pastoral outcomes by investing in your staff

I must declare that I am not poster boy for anything to do with mental health. In fact I proudly and openly share my personal challenges at the beginning of my talks and any meetings I have about my ADHD, eating problems and a cadre of other issues.

Having seen hundreds and probably thousands of schools, I have got only a handful of examples of what I think is stunning wellbeing in practice – and in this article I would like to share with you the work of two schools in particular.

This article is not suggesting individuals should not ever do x, y or z initiative, but I instead will ask what whole organisations (schools) could do in order to create a culture of wellbeing. There are two schools I am drawing on for this article as they each emphasise a different aspect of wellbeing that I have learnt from – Cardiff High School and The Marlborough School in St Albans. This is my interpretation of their work – so please do not hold them to account for any inaccuracies.