Wales has adopted a Whole-School Approach to Emotional and Mental Wellbeing to ensure that every learner grows in an environment that supports their mental, emotional, and social development. Instead of treating wellbeing as a single lesson or one-off intervention, this approach weaves it into every aspect of school life — from leadership decisions and staff training to classroom practice, relationships, and the physical environment.

At its heart, the approach recognises that wellbeing is everyone’s responsibility. Schools, families, local authorities, and health services work together so that children and young people feel safe, valued, and able to thrive. It encourages schools to build a positive culture where pupils learn skills for resilience, empathy, and emotional regulation, and where staff wellbeing is also prioritised.

By embedding wellbeing into daily routines and long-term planning, we aim to create communities where learners are not only academically supported but also nurtured as confident, healthy individuals ready for life’s challenges.  

 

The whole school approach seeks to support good emotional and mental well-being by promoting a positive cultural environment in schools, where children and young people form positive relationships with staff and other learners, and relationships are strengthened:

• between teaching staff

• with the school senior leadership team and wider school staff

• with parents and carers

• with other professionals working with the school

• with the wider community that surrounds the school

The whole-school approach recognises the complexity of managing school emotional well being, e.g. teaching young people to:

• understand their own emotions and how they can adapt and cope with the challenges they will face

• manage low-level short-term challenges such as exam stress

• manage some extremely challenging and complex situations such as parental ill health, substance misuse, caring responsibilities, life events and unexpected events

 

The whole-school approach seeks to support good emotional and mental well-being by strengthening the relationship(s) between:

• teacher and learner

• teaching staff

• the school senior leadership team and wider school staff

• the school and parents and carers

• the school and other professionals working with the school

• the school and the wider community that surrounds the school.

UNCRC

• Article 6, which recognises that all children and young people have the right to survive and the right to develop
• Article 12, which states that children have a right to say what they think should happen when adults are making decisions that affect them, and to have their opinions taken into account
• Article 24, which says that healthcare for children and young people should be as good as possible, but also goes further than this by saying children and young people have the right to be both physically and mentally fulfilled
• Article 29, which says that a child or young person's education should help their mind, body and talents be the best they can. It should also build their respect for other people and the world around them. In particular, they should learn to respect their rights and the rights of others

 

Mrs Underhill-Jones - Health and Wellbeing leader

mrsunderhill-jones@stdavidsprm.cardiff.sch.uk