What can schools and PRUs do to strengthen pupils’ resilience?
School leaders rarely talk of building pupils’ resilience as a main aim or objective. Resilience is often strengthened as a result of other work carried out to support pupils. Schools are becoming more and more aware of issues that affect their pupils and are becoming better at identifying those who need help with their wellbeing and mental health.
A number of cases of good practice in this area are highlighted in some of our recent thematic reports such as Knowing your children – supporting children with adverse childhood experiences Healthy and Happy and Effective school support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils
In July we published Learner Resilience – building resilience in primary schools, secondary schools and pupil referral units.
This report highlighted that factors that support resilience are generally relate to:
- self-esteem and self-confidence
- belief in our own ability to cope
- a range of approaches to help us cope
- good relationships with others who we can rely upon to help
Emotional wellbeing and mental health
The best schools understand that pupils’ emotional wellbeing is the responsibility of all staff and that every interaction and engagement with pupils has an impact on their sense of worth. In these schools, staff know that all their words, actions and attitudes influence a pupil’s self-esteem, self-confidence and ultimately, their wellbeing.
It’s important that pupils have regular opportunities to express their emotions and share their feelings at school. Successful schools have clear approaches for listening to and addressing pupils’ concerns quickly. They are alert to how pupils are feeling during the day, and work with pupils to identify particular staff members to whom they can turn if needed.
Nurturing approaches can be very successful in helping to build resilience in pupils who are struggling to cope with their current circumstances. Trained staff can help pupils develop their personal and social ski