Whole School Approaches
All things linked to implementing a Whole School Approach.
Blog Posts

The King’s Speech 2024
The emphasis on Wellbeing in schools is both timely and crucial. Recognising the importance of Mental and Emotional Health in the development of young people is a significant step towards creating a supportive educational environment...
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Making the change to a Whole School Approach
Fantastic news - you’ve decided to embrace whole-school change and introduce a new, strategic, Whole School Approach to Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health. But what does this mean for staff and wider stakeholders and what do you need to consider?...
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The importance of understanding emotional wellbeing within schools
Emotions are sometimes seen as the bull-in-the-china-shop of well-organised thinking, well-ordered classrooms, and a barrier to academic performance; it’s time to shift that paradigm. In fact, it’s more accurate for us to imagine those emotions as shelves in that china shop on wh...
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Introducing the NEW Organisational Snapshot & Action Plan
We’re very excited to be able to announce these new features - the next step in promoting an emotionally healthy culture throughout the whole school and supporting Senior Leadership Teams with improved workflows and potentially great time savings...
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Muses

October - Creating Safe Spaces: Why Psychological Safety is a Game-Changer for Schools
If you're curious, rest assured - it's not just another box to tick. It's about actively fostering a safe and supportive environment in schools and classrooms for everyone. This might involve rethinking our approach to class dynamics and student interactions.
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September - Explicit Kindness
Described by one Motioneer as 'Please, just be... kind!' with an explicit descriptor in the middle!!! 🤣
It's more than this though.... it's about deliberate, explicit demonstrations of kindness and the science behind it!
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Reads & Research
This Estyn report evaluates how well primary and secondary schools in Wales support the health and wellbeing of pupils.


File(s) Available: Download Document
Author: Estyn
Published By: Estyn
Document Published Date: 1 June 2019
Last Updated: 14 February 2024
Public Health Wales - Self Evaluation document.
All aspects of this document are explored in Motional's Organisational Snapshot and Action Plan tool.


File(s) Available: Download Document
Author: Public Health Wales(PHW)
Published By: PHW
Document Published Date: 1 September 2022
Last Updated: 30 May 2024
The Big Book of Whole School Wellbeing
Despite many school leaders and teaching and non-teaching staff working hard to support children’s and their own wellbeing, more needs to be done.
This book provides you with the necessary tools and strategies to navigate your way through the changing educational landscape and shape the schools of the future. Written by a diverse range of experts in the field, it explores how all school staff can support their own, their colleagues’ and their students’ wellbeing, how leaders can lead well and be well, and the importance of relationships within the entire school community to promote personal, academic and professional flourishing.
Kimberley Evans is an experience teacher and founder of Nourish the Workplace.
Thérèse Hoyle is an education consultant, leadership coach and trainer.
Frederika Roberts is a Positive Education advocate and former teacher.
Bukky Yusuf is a senior leader, science teacher and consultant.


Author: Kimberley Evans, Thérèse Hoyle, Frederika Roberts, Bukky Yusuf
Published By: SAGE Publications Ltd
Document Published Date: 28 October 2021
ISBN: 978-1529764253
Last Updated: 12 February 2025
Assessing and Building Wellbeing
A sense of belonging and wellbeing at school influences educational and health outcomes. This article widens the focus on using student wellbeing data in schools.
Key findings from national-level W@S data, plus other New Zealand and international studies, suggest areas that might be important for schools to focus on


File(s) Available: Download Document
Author: Sally Boyd
Published By: New Zealand Council for Educational Research
Document Published Date: 1 December 2019
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.18296/set.0133
Last Updated: 14 February 2024
This document describes eight principles of a whole school or college approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing, which, if applied consistently and comprehensively, will help protect and promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
All aspects of this document are explored in Motional's Organisational Snapshot and Action Plan Tool.


File(s) Available: Download Document
Author: Public Health England (PHE)
Published By: PHE
Document Published Date: 3 February 2021
Last Updated: 13 February 2024
Square Pegs
Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools is a book for educators who find themselves torn between a government/Ofsted narrative around behaviour, attendance and attainment, and their own passion for supporting square pegs and their families.
Bringing different perspectives and expertise together in one place, Square Pegs aims to help school leaders and staff support children (and their families) more effectively.
The authors cover a wide variety of topics – including school attendance, building relationships, trauma-informed practice, and behaviour management. Featuring contributions from more than 50 individual authors, this is an accessible, dip-in, dip-out book – perfect for busy school leaders.
Suitable for all professionals working in education and the related issues surrounding children and young people’s mental health, as well as policymakers, academics and government ministers!!


Author: Fran Morgan with Ellie Costello
Published By: Independent Thinking Press
Document Published Date: 2 February 2023
ISBN: 978-1781354100
Last Updated: 15 July 2024
This article presents findings from a meta-analysis which sought to determine the effectiveness of interventions adopting a whole school approach to enhancing children and young people’s social and emotional development.


File(s) Available: Download Document
Author: Goldberg, J.M., Sklad, M., Elfrink, T.R. et al.
Published By: European Journal of Psychology of Education
Document Published Date: 30 October 2018
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-018-0406-9
Last Updated: 14 February 2024
This is a guide designed to provide Head Teachers with practical steps to implement a Whole School Approach towards building a mentally healthy school. Each of the five steps is explained in detail and supported by research.


File(s) Available: Download Document
Author: Rich Head, Dr Mia Eisenstadt, Tony Sammon
Published By: Motional
Document Published Date: 13 February 2024
Last Updated: 13 February 2024