Building a home away from home

A recent report highlights that Chinese teenagers have shown increased levels of anxiety and depression during the Covid-19 crisis. Many boarding schools in the UK have more or less resumed their pre-Covid schedules, but it is still vitally important that schools remember that Hong Kong students have a long way to go to reach normal.

As Ruth Benny, founder of Top Schools, based in Hong Kong, points out, "many students have not returned home for over a year and have not seen one or both parents in that time. This is bound to take its toll and the impact may well be long term."

So we asked boarding school leaders how they are specifically addressing this issue during the pandemic and how they are more broadly supporting separated families.

From the responses received, it is clear that having "pastoral care" already at the very heart of school life has been critical to enable services to be scaled up rather than created, at a time when schools have been operating under immense pressure.

Felsted School's Headmaster, Chris Townsend, particularly highlights the crucial, expanded role of the school's Wellbeing Centre, which has continued running onsite and virtually to the community, including students, staff and parents, during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Slindon College's headmaster highlights the value of having a mental health "lead" at the school. Having this role already established has meant the school has been able to "step up" existing provisions to meet the needs of its pupils rather than trying to introduce new initiatives at a very stressful time.

The varied provision, recognizing that "one size does not fit all," has included: increased access to counseling sessions ("Time to Talk" program) alongside a program of physical activity including "Wednesday Wellbeing Walk."

All initiatives at the school are underpinned by the fact that all academic staff have already completed the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Awareness course Level 2, encouraging openness and the discussion of feelings throughout the school day, rather than restricted to specific sessions.

Enhancing a sense of community and belonging has also been prioritized in many schools during the pandemic, recognizing that many pupils were, and continue to be, concerned about families far away.

Indeed, seeing the school as just one part of a broader community that is needed to make a child feel safe and secure has proved vital. At the American School in England a 'morale up' communications plan has been put in place aimed at students, staff and families, providing holistic initiatives encompassing both physical and mental health from positive social media content to physical challenges.

Focusing on working in harmony with parents has been a key aspect of success in this field, recognizing that all those responsible for a young person's wellbeing need to be working as a cohesive community.

As well as offering support services that reach out to meet pupils' needs, some schools have also focused on equipping young people with the tools to understand and deal with their own anxiety, when they are able. An invaluable life lesson and, one could argue, a crucial addition to the curriculum.

As Dr Louise Wheeler, Rochester Independent College's newly appointed Assistant Principal (International) explains: "We have recently introduced the RIC Wellbeing Wheel, as a visual tool to help students understand how different aspects of their lifestyle and mindset can impact their emotional and cognitive engagement. This includes: physical aspects (such as sleep, nutrition and exercise); learning (both within A-levels and extracurricular); emotions and mental health; spirit (awareness and connection with one's self); a sense of community and belonging (relationships with others); and their vision for the future.

"Through guided discussions, personal tutors can support tutees to 'map' their own wellbeing and identify areas for potential positive change. We also hope that these kinds of guided reflections help foster a 'growth mindset' in our online learners, as well as resilience and the tools necessary for sustainable wellbeing long term."

Addressing the "whole" person in response to the pandemic has also been a key aspect of care offered at Cardiff Sixth Form College. As Lisa Morton, Head of Pastoral Care, observes: "Our online Wellbeing Hub was enhanced in April 2020 to allow students to work towards targets addressing their diet, exercise and mental health and additional awards were added to the existing program in order to allow pupils to gain Health and Wellbeing Awareness Certificates. Merging health and wellbeing practices in this way has not only been well received by students but the college has also seen a measurable difference in safeguarding statistics and numbers of pupils needing targeted pastoral support."

Addressing the mental health needs of the whole, extended school community is definitely a hallmark of the best practice examples that have been shared in this article. "Care for the carers" is proving as vital as support for the pupils themselves. At the end of the day, if parents as well as pupils do not feel supported, then schools will be failing to provide the high-quality support families need at this incredibly stressful time.

As Raf Garcia-Krailing, Director of UK Education Guide also points out; "It is vitally important that this scale up in support is provided long term. The impact of the pandemic will be long lasting for many families that have been separated for significant periods of time and we are only just now starting to understand the implications"

Schools that have really strengthened their pastoral care and parental support during the pandemic should be very well placed to thrive in the future. Perhaps a question all parents selecting schools in the future should ask prospective schools is, "how did you improve your communication with parents during the pandemic and how much of this support is still in place?"

Pat Moores is the director of UK Education Guide, an independent source of advice and information about UK Education providers.

Website: www.ukeducationguide.com