What does it mean to be well?
When I qualified as a teacher 20 years ago, schools related ‘wellbeing’ to meeting children’s basic needs, based on Maslow’s Hierarchy – in essence, ensuring that they were fed and clothed, had access to shelter and security, experienced positive and loving relationships, and developed a positive sense of self-esteem. In 2024, while none of this has changed, the factors that can negatively affect the wellbeing of children and young people are more complex and much more elusive. Technology, climate change, security, AI, and risk-aversity are all contributing to the rewiring of childhood, and an increase in anxiety and perceived loss of control, the global impact of which is being felt in classrooms around the world. According to UNICEF, approximately 1 in 7 children and adolescents globally are living with a mental health disorder, and more concerningly, around half of these conditions occur before the age of 14. Resoundingly, schools and educators are being called upon to support positive and proactive approaches to keeping children and families well.
Wellington As Leaders of Wellness
Wellington College in the UK are no strangers to this call, leading the way both nationally and internationally on the wellbeing agenda for schools. Sir Anthony Seldon, a prominent British educator and former Master at Wellington College, is a strong advocate for wellbeing and character education. His innovative and pioneering decision to include wellbeing as a discreet subject in the curriculum has become a corner-stone of many programs of learning around the world, blending an emphasis on developing character virtues of honesty, kindness and perseverance, alongside academic excellence.
Wellbeing and Early Childhood
At Wellington College Independent School Jakarta, this tradition of a holistic, child-centered approach to education will continue, and it starts in the Early Years. With a clear focus on knowing the child, fostering positive relationships, and placing children in a supportive and enabling environment, we aim to give all of our children a strong foundation from which to develop a robust learning stance, developing the key characteristics of a highly effective learner, alongside the virtues of a great human being.
More than this, we believe that well children come from well families. Parents now have more access to a range of parenting advice than any generation before, and yet the anxiety of making the right decisions for your children can be overwhelming. It really does take a village to raise a child, and our team of highly qualified and highly experienced practitioners will be with you throughout the journey from toddler to teenager to give you support and guidance at every age and stage. With our ‘Parents As Partners’ series of workshops and seminars, Wellington College Independent School Jakarta will be leading wellness through a family lens.
We look forward to asking you ‘are you well?’.
References
A Theory of Human Motivation
Maslow, A, Psychological Review, (1943)
The Coalition for Youth Mental Health
UNICEF, (Nov 2022)
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
Haidt, J, Penguin Press, (2024)
