‘Part of Who we are as a School Should Include Responsibility for Well-Being’: Links between the School Environment, Mental Health and Behaviour

Abstract

Drawing from a Scottish study, this article examines ways in which the school environment can impact upon the well-being of pupils and their associated behaviour. It identifies tensions between existing school structures and cultures and the promotion of positive mental health, particularly in relation to the curriculum, pastoral care, discipline and teacher/pupil relationships. In many cases, schools attempt to address mental well-being by bolting fragmented initiatives onto existing systems, and we argue that a more fundamental review of values, policies and practices throughout the school is needed. This paper also looks at the roles of interagency workers in schools, and reports that, in most cases, these workers are seen as offering a parallel service to the mainstream school, targeted at the most troubled or troublesome pupils. We suggest that schools should draw on the skills and understandings of these workers to help build new cultures throughout the school for the benefit of all children and young people.

Keywords:

• emotional well-being
• schools
• mental health
• interagency working

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the Scottish Executive Education Department for their financial support of this research project, and also the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being for supporting the dissemination of findings through a grant awarded by the Small Projects Initiative.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Spratt

Research Fellow

Janet Shucksmith

Professor in Public Health

Kate Philip

Senior Research Fellow

Cate Watson

Lecturer