Well-being, care, support and guidance Archives - Estyn

Tag: Well-being, care, support and guidance

Tag: Well-being, care, support and guidance

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Estyn is responsible for checking standards and the quality of education in Wales. We inspect schools and give regular advice about education to the Welsh Government and other relevant organisations. 

We’re totally committed to ensuring that every child in Wales has the right to feel safe in school, to be looked after properly and to have a say in what matters to them. Bullying is an important issue for us, and one we regularly consider through our inspection activity or thematic reports and when we provide guidance for the Welsh Government. 

We’re proud to support the Anti-Bullying Alliance and to promote the 2022 Anti-Bullying Week’s ‘Reach Out’ campaign which takes place from 14 to 18 November.

We recently published a report on a specific type of bullying behaviour which happens between children and young people – peer-on-peer sexual harassment. The report, We don’t tell our teachers, looked at the incidence of peer-on-peer sexual harassment in the lives of secondary-aged young people and also reviewed the culture and processes that help protect and support young people in secondary schools in Wales. 

Many of the pupils we spoke to told us that they don’t ‘reach out’ about bullying and harassment. They said that this is because it happens so often that it has become ‘normal’. However, in our discussions with groups of pupils, we were astounded by their willingness to talk about these issues. We found that around half of secondary pupils say they have personal experience of some form of peer-on-peer sexual harassment, with twice as many girls saying they’ve experienced this compared with boys. Young people told us that peer-on-peer harassment happens more online and 
outside school than during the school day. However, in school, the most common types of harassment are negative comments about appearance, asking for and sending nude photographs and general negative attitudes towards girls and LGBTQ+ pupils.

For the first time ever, we also wrote a report on our findings specifically for children and young people. This is because so many young people had been honest and brave when talking to us about this important issue. In our report, We don’t tell our teachers, but schools need to know – a report for learners, there is a section which encourages and helps people to address these issues in their schools. Through these reports, we hope more young people can find the same courage and ‘reach out’ to help tackle issues of bullying.

We know that ‘reaching out’ is not as easy as it sounds. But we also know that we need to keep talking about bullying. Before the pandemic, we wrote an important blog about this: Why we need to keep talking about bullying. 

In other reports we have written, we have found that for pupils to feel safe to ‘reach out’ about bullying, they have to be satisfied with how their school deals with allegations of bullying (see Healthy and happy – school impact on pupils’ health and wellbeing). They need schools to not underestimate its prevalence, or to dismiss and ignore everyday incidences where pupils make negative or sexist remarks to each other. In our discussions with young people, we also find that young people would welcome more opportunities to discuss sexuality and healthy relationships and are asking for better provision for sex education. 

We always consider the important aspects of wellbeing, safety and bullying ahead of visiting a school or provider through our pre-inspection questionnaires which we invite all pupils, parents and carers, staff members and governors to complete. We also ask questions around these aspects in parent meetings and in our group discussions with pupils. Establishing how pupils, parents and carers feel about how well a school handles incidents of bullying influences our activity during the visit. This year, we have been trialling different approaches in our conversations with pupils to
ensure they feel comfortable talking to inspectors. These include inviting pupils to bring a friend along with them to meetings and using creative resources produced in association with leading Welsh academics and experts in this field.

Since our inspections resumed in March 2022, we have been taking a closer look at the culture of safeguarding within providers (see Inspecting a school’s safeguarding culture), including when learners are on-site, off-site, and learning online. We do not investigate individual cases, but we consider the quality and delivery of activities designed to promote well-being and prevent negative, harmful behaviour and attitudes. For example, by looking at how providers promote online safety, deliver personal social and relationships education and provide relevant professional learning for staff. We also talk to pupils and staff about processes to keep them safe and review school documents carefully to establish whether the provider’s safeguarding arrangements are promoting pupil safety and well-being effectively. 

We stand together with the Anti-Bullying Alliance and any other organisation that calls out and seeks to tackle bullying. 

To all young people we say: report any issues to school staff, a family member, or an adult you trust, and don’t be afraid to talk about it – whatever it may be. Reach out and sort out. 

For more information on the work of Estyn visit www.estyn.gov.wales 

Follow Estyn on Twitter https://twitter.com/EstynHMI

Tag: Well-being, care, support and guidance

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Leaders demonstrate a strong moral purpose

In all the schools and colleges we visited, leaders demonstrate a clear moral purpose towards promoting inclusion and celebrating diversity. They recognise its importance and see its relevance to young people. 

For example, in the primary schools we visited, leaders ensure that pupils are taught about LGBT issues in a developmentally appropriate way that helps them understand what they see in the their family, their community and the media.

Leaders act as positive role models in their use of language and challenge staff to consider how their language may reinforce prejudice, such as stereotyping related to sex, gender or sexual orientation.

Pupil voice plays a key role

In the effective providers we visited, there is a clear role for learners in establishing and promoting the school or college’s approach to supporting inclusion and exploring diversity. 

For example, all the secondary schools we visit

Tag: Well-being, care, support and guidance

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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

Tag: Well-being, care, support and guidance

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Recent studies by Public Health Wales found that almost a half of the adults in Wales experienced adversity at least once in childhood with 14% suffering four or more times while growing up. These types of experiences have a highly negative impact on child health, including mental health, social engagement, behaviour and school attendance.

Supporting children and young people who live in difficult situations is an important aspect of a school’s work. Our January 2020 report, ‘Knowing your children – supporting pupils with adverse childhood experiences’, explored the impact schools have on the wellbeing of pupils with adverse childhood experiences (ACES). The Public Health Wales research tells us that influences such as friends, trusted adults, the community and school all help children to build resilience and deal better with severe hardships.

Why schools?

School staff are the professionals who spend most time with children and young people. Social workers and health workers may work with them but do not see them every day, unlike teachers and support staff. This means that schools are best placed to identify difficulties and support and influence children and young people.

We find that the best schools know their pupils and families well and work productively to support them in a non-judgmental way. They use their experience and findings from research and training to support children and young people and help them get the most out of school.

What do the best schools do to support their children and build up their resilience?

These are some of the beneficial activities going on in primary and secondary schools:

  • Nurturing sessions to allow time for pupils to eat, socialise and play games together before and after school and during breaks.
  • Purposeful and beneficial activities which use creative subjects like music and art to promote positive mental health.
  • After-school clubs which engage children and young people, enable them to work productively with trusted adults and peers and build up their resilience. These include cookery clubs, gardening clubs, ICT clubs and sport clubs.
  • A positive behaviour policy where staff use language that engages pupils and supports their emotions, and favours restorative approaches rather than punishment to change poor behaviour.
  • Safe and quiet areas or rooms where pupils, particularly older ones, can relax or have some personal reflection time when they feel overwhelmed or anxious.
  • Programmes of support for targeted groups of children run by trained staff such as anger management, emotion coaching, play therapy and mindfulness.
  • Parental engagement classes and groups to support vulnerable adults. Activities include cookery and literacy lessons, parenting classes and running clothing sales and food banks.
  • Regular meetings with partners from social services and health to ensure that everyone works together for the benefit of families who need support.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for schools to provide their usual levels of support for vulnerable pupils.  Now pupils are returning to school, we need to make sure that they are protected, and that schools provide an environment where pupils feel safe and supported. The NSPCC has lots of useful advice and resources for children and young people, as well as their parents and carers.

How can schools and public services provide better support?

Our ‘Knowing your children’ report features many interesting case studies of good practice in primary and secondary schools across Wales as well as examples of beneficial multi-agency work. Schools should first ensure that they place a strong focus on building and maintaining trusting, positive and open relationships with families. Finally, schools should provide calm, nurturing and supportive spaces for children and young people to relax and feel safe when they feel stressed, worried or sad.