The importance of our well being is rapidly becoming more well known and understood by the day. The time has gone where we previously focused solely on our physical health, instead, to be truly healthy, our mental wellbeing has to be nurtured and cared for. 

With our daily routines becoming ever more chaotic and with downtime, a rare luxury, putting time aside to recover and stop is a privilege that many few get to cherish.

But what about the importance of wellbeing for pupils? How can we begin to care, support, and nurture the pupil wellbeing during these challenging times within their education? 

Whether it is the daily struggles of their school curriculum or the challenges of social interactions within the classroom, it is no secret that for many pupils, their school years are a challenge. 

Within this blog, we will cover many important points. From the importance of pupil wellbeing, to how you too can begin to take steps to care for the mental wellbeing of your children. 

What exactly is the importance of wellbeing for pupils?

Whether the stress of completing their maths homework or the anxiety that comes with exam preparation, school can bring a mixture of emotions.

From heightening anxiety that is already present in their everyday lives, to the creation of stresses that they were not aware of. Ensuring that wellbeing is enforced for pupils is not fully appreciated or incorporated into the school routine.

With curriculums missing out on the vital teaching of well being, mediation and self-care, how can we ever expect our children to have an understanding of how to care for their mental wellbeing when it comes to their education. 

Why is caring and teaching about mental health an important feature when it comes to the wellbeing for pupils? 

Many recent studies have been conducted that have highlighted the importance in the correlation between mental and emotional health within schools and the positive effects it can have on their education

A feature within our everyday lives, for students the addition of stress can shake and disrupt their life, however, the feature of stress does not impact us within our daily lives, a feature that schools need to cover within lessons.  

By taking the time to teach and educate students on stress and the importance of wellbeing for pupils, academic success and emotional intelligence can be achieved by an entire generation. 

The need to teach wellbeing for autistic pupils

When it comes to the importance of wellbeing for pupils, the needs of autistic and special need pupils is often greatly overlooked. SEN pupils are at a greater risk of being affected by the mental health and the stress that is experienced within their educational experience. 

For pupils experiencing student life with autism, 4 in 5 autistic pupils have been found to suffer from mental health problems in a recent study. This shocking figure has highlighted the urgency in educating pupils, not just in state schools but also in SEN education.

Benefits of wellbeing in the curriculum? 

With an estimated 1 in 3 pupils suffering from a diagnosed mental health problem, teaching wellbeing within the classroom should not go overlooked. 

By rebalancing the message that schools give out to the pupils, no longer should there be the focus on the need to obtain solely good grades. Instead, the importance of happiness and personal development should be highlighted and pushed. 

From 1-2-1 pupil, teacher sessions where a supportive environment is created should be a first step to creating a nurturing environment. This environment will allow the pupil to feel safe while within a welcoming environment. 

Inviting pupils to open up and speak amongst their peers, can also play a key part in enforcing pupil wellbeing within the classroom. This is achieved by allowing them to open up while increasing their confidence in their ability and knowledge on the subject at hand.

1.Greater self-confidence

Research has found that by promoting pupil welling, greater self-confidence can be created, in turn creating a healthier and more confident student.

By putting the pupil first and working on a one to one basis, you can discover the individual needs of each pupil and ensure that they are able to learn and thrive in a supportive environment. This environment that puts their needs first can allow them to learn with minimal boundaries and give them an additional layer of confidence that they can insert into their studies.

2.Improved quality of life

With a new lease of self-confidence within their studies, this self-confidence can be incorporated and merged into all areas of their life. From the confidence that they possess when facing new situations with the ability to socialise with new people, pupils that are aware of their well being generally have a higher quality of life.

This is due to their ability to rationally judge each circumstance and be able to comprehend and view the situation that they are facing with a clear head.

3.Healthier behavioural traits

Confident and happy pupils are typically likely to have healthier behavioural traits than those of their peers. This key fact is due to their ability to effortlessly communicate with fellow students and teachers on a more confident and clearer level.

Able to open up and express themselves and their challenges that they are facing, the importance of the wellbeing of pupils can allow these students to feel greater empathy and possess concern and care for the welfare of their peers. 

4.Higher quality of education

Able to clearly control and monitor their stress levels and emotion within the classroom, it has been found that well being when practised by pupils can lead to a higher quality of education. This higher quality of education is formed through their ability and desire to push and challenge themselves. A trait that is formed and moulded through their newfound confidence within themselves.

By throwing themselves into the lesson and listening with more devotion, students can digest more of the subject and fully become aware of a higher level of the subject they are learning.

Wrap up

A vital part of a student’s education, it is surprising how often the wellbeing of a student gets overlooked. Not automatically inserted into the curriculum, the mental health of a pupil needs to be put at the forefront of the students’ education to ensure that the pupil can fully flourish within their studies. 

Whether to increase their overall self-confidence, create healthier behavioural traits to even improve their education, the need to teach and share the importance of wellbeing for pupils can even go as far to create well rounded, healthier young adults.

With stress, a recent appearance within our daily lives, the need to teach the importance of well being and how to best control our emotions, can we ensure that we raise a generation of happy individuals.

About the author:

Charlotte Johnson is from the sunny south of England and is an avid copywriter and SEO  assistant that specialises in wellbeing. A keen practitioner of mediation and yoga, you can find Charlotte regularly sharing her expertise in mental health within blogs across the internet.