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Pupil wellbeing, school belonging and inclusion are sometimes accused of being ‘woolly’ terms – dismissed as concepts or feelings which cannot be measured. The Difference, an education charity that supports schools and school leaders in becoming more inclusive and #BeeWell are both proving this assumption wrong.
As part of our Spotlight on School, taking a closer look at school belonging and the ways wellbeing can be supported in school – we spoke with Kit Rooney, Research, Impact & Influence Officer at The Difference, about their use of the #BeeWell survey questions to support their school leadership programmes and about their recent Who is Losing Learning Solutions Report.
How has The Difference made use of the #BeeWell survey?
“As part of our programmes, we’ve deployed an adapted version of the #BeeWell survey to around 30 of the schools we work with, both primary and secondary, and we are hoping to extend that further so more schools can more expertly plan their support offer using robust data” shares Kit.
The purpose is to support school leaders to understand the needs of their pupils.
“Schools tell us that the wellbeing survey has been instrumental in their school improvement work – informing how they become a more inclusive place. Leaders are empowered by having access to data on wellbeing, and can make targeted interventions. This could be changing how certain parts of the school day go, creating new student groups, or implementing further listening exercises to gain a deeper understanding of the issues raised. Listening to young people is a crucial element of developing an environment where students feel they belong. The feedback we’ve had from leaders has been really positive, and we’re looking forward to encouraging more of the schools we work with to take part and conduct these surveys, and we can help them with analysis along the way.”
How does The Difference define inclusion, and where does measuring wellbeing fit into that definition?
“We recently published our Who is Losing Learning Solutions Report, which outlined our sector-backed definition of Whole-school Inclusion. We define it as all staff supporting the learning, wellbeing and safety needs of all children, so that they belong, achieve and thrive. A key principle of this definition is the understanding that inclusion is absolutely measurable. Understanding the wellbeing, safety and belonging of children in schools, and tracking lost learning are key measures we want schools to use, and we want both the Department for Education and the wider sector to adopt this definition.”
How would having a national wellbeing measurement programme implemented across England impact on your work and the schools you support?
“We know the immense amount of pressure schools are under currently. We can’t hold schools accountable for everything to do with wellbeing, as a huge number of factors and variables feed into this. A national wellbeing measurement programme would offer support to schools while connecting them with wider systems, communities, and voluntary services. It would allow the collection of vital data to indicate where to prioritise funding, staffing, resources and wider cross-sector collaboration. It just makes sense! The significance of having young people at the core of this national programme cannot be overstated – they know better than anyone where and why the system isn’t currently working for them.”
The Difference are supporters of the Our Wellbeing, Our Voice campaign – led by #BeeWell, The Children’s Society, Fair Education Alliance and Pro Bono Economics – calling on the UK government to commit to introducing a national wellbeing measurement programme, to listen to and address the needs of children and young people across England.
