The School Principal and student well-being

Student well-being is currently a bit of a buzzword and rightly so.  If the kids don't feel happy and safe at school then the principal will I am sure get busy to have this righted.

I was interested that a large and prestigious private girls' school in my area is building a well-being centre.  I feel this is great provided that what the centre does translates to the classrooms and the student's life in general.  Well-being should be part of the school culture and be at the forefront in every learning situation throughout the day.  Maybe the well-being centre has a role to provide counselling for students who are experiencing some deep issue and to show students in general how to cope with growing up and to teach them some calming activities like meditation.  Not many schools would be able to afford such a centre.  I will watch with interest how it goes.  A lot of establishing well-being for the kids falls to the class teachers.

The recent Safe Schools Program controversy is another thing I have observed with interest.  The teacher reviews are positive yet the government conservatives and the Christian lobby have expressed deep concerns.  If I were a school principal today I would exercise caution with this program but would give it a go if I could muster the necessary parental support.

Anyhow I reveal here that my top priority school effectiveness criterion (SEC) is student well-being.  I have written a lot about it and the need for schools to be regularly assessing the state of the student well-being index.  I guess this will be no surprise to many out there in the schools.

My second priority SEC is about schools helping students to be fit and healthy and to feel good about themselves.

While every teacher has a responsibility to ensure student well-being a lot can be achieved through special work in physical education and performing arts.  This to be done by the primary school class teachers if there is no specialist available and by the specialists in larger primary schools and in the secondary schools.  It is too much detail for me to outline in this blog but I have it written up elsewhere if you are interested.  Suffice to say that I have marvelled over the years at the smiles on the faces of kids who have just performed in some stage act for their class,  school or district.  It is a great self confidence and positive self image builder.

My third priority SEC is about the frequency teachers talk personally to each student each week.  It is easy for a teacher to check on this by a period of regular introspection.

It can be seen that my priorities 1, 2 and 3 are interrelated and could be grouped under student well-being.

Hope it's going well for all out there in the schools.

GD