The importance of well-being in education

Published in the May 2022 edition of ABC magazine.

It may surprise some parents that research on adults has shown that the best predictor of life satisfaction is wellbeing in childhood and not factors such as academic achievement and exam grades. In fact test results in general, and whether a person is successful in them or not, does not predict later life satisfaction. With this issue is the fact that fear of failure and anxiety around examinations and tests reduces wellbeing in children. Even if the child is successful in academic attainment in school, if that is coupled with stress and anxiety, that has a negative effect on individual wellbeing.

We know that mental health and other factors that affect wellbeing have become an increasing problem in the UK. The World Health Organisation describes mental health as “a state of wellbeing in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” Measures of wellbeing in children carried out internationally shows that the UK is doing worse than most other countries - and things are getting worse.

Other research has shown that the continuation of wellbeing from childhood through adulthood predicts how well people will do in old age, such as physical and cognitive ability, and also life expectancy. Loneliness is now well accepted as an important threat to physical and mental health and again in relation to life expectancy. Developing good relationships in childhood can be a major factor in inhibiting the onset of loneliness in middle and old age.

So what is the impact of schooling on all this? It has now been established that it’s not necessarily the frequency of testing that is a factor in schooling, but the perceived lack of teacher support. This is not an attack on individual teachers, but rather points to the reality that the structures of schools increasingly inhibits adult support for children. The average teacher in local secondary schools typically has to teach over 250 children per week. It is well-known that it is impossible to know well 250 individuals.

We also know that over the last 27 years the length of break times in schools has gone down by an average of 45 minutes per day. Studies of children show that they actually want more break time and more opportunities to develop their relationships with friends during informal breaks in the school day. They are right in wanting this.

The Government has been supporting the notion of possible longer school days and if this means more time in the classroom and less social time, then this is an unhealthy option. Indeed, despite the rhetoric in the media, there is no evidence that making children be in school for longer is necessarily a good thing. An example would be why do parents spend large sums of money on sending their children to independent schools that by and large have shorter terms than state schools?

Also our research has shown that travel is an extremely valuable opportunity for children to learn many important abilities - and the exposure to other cultures is hugely positive for wellbeing. Yet parents who have the good sense to want to travel during term time with their children are subject to significant fines. Schools with a rigid imposed curriculum find it difficult to deal with the necessary flexibility to cope with giving children the chance to travel.

At Self Managed Learning College, which is a learning community rather than school, we encourage parents to travel during term time to avoid the steep costs of travel during school holidays. We can do this because we don’t have a fixed curriculum, but rather each child is able to pursue their own learning in their own way and if they’re away for a week or two in term time, they merely pick up where they left off when they return. In the absence of classrooms and imposed testing we are not trapped in school structures.

Our focus on wellbeing above all else, means that we can take time to find out about every child, and to understand them, so that we can deal with whatever they need in support. With no more than 42 children in the building at any one time there is plenty of opportunity for staff to engage with each and every child -and get to know them and their needs really well.

Dr Ian Cunningham

Chair of Governors at Self Managed Learning College

Learn more about the Self Managed Learning College and our unique approach to education, providing a supportive environment for learning.

To arrange a visit, find out when our next Open Days are.