A CULTURE OF WELLBEING: WHY WE MUST PUT POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH AT THE HEART OF OUR SCHOOLS

For young people, a key priority when rethinking education is considering how education affects our mental health. It will come as no surprise that young people are facing a mental health epidemic, and the education system has become a driving factor in this. Recent policies have fuelled toxic cultures in our schools, which glorify burnout and stigmatise those who rest as scroungers, whilst long-standing, paradigmatic problems have persisted.Too many young people try to learn in these fear-driven cultures each day – and this was my reality at school. After growing significantly aggrieved, I took action to ensure my school implemented what is called a ‘culture of well-being’ – one wherein rest is held in equal regard to work. One wherein the positive well-being of all is actively promoted – for it is recognised that positive well-being is an essential prerequisite to learning.The culture of well-being has created positive change to the realities experienced by young people on the ground – as well as for the whole-school community. In this article, I will introduce the culture of well-being, explain how to implement it in practice, and amplify the plea of young people for education to work with, not against, their mental health.