What is a successful school?

‘We spend too much of our time worrying about the mosquitoes and not enough time concerning ourselves about the health of the pond.’ Anon

Successful schools understand that connection is at the heart of wellbeing and that people learn more effectively when their social and emotional wellbeing needs are addressed. The importance of students and staff feeling connected to their schools is therefore paramount. If we consider the above statement as representing Northern Territory schools, the ‘mosquitoes’ might represent NAPLAN testing, Northern Territory Curriculum Framework results, student suspension rates or financial reports and the health of the pond might represent the school climate, culture and ethos. This paper proposes that, when a comprehensive whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing is adopted, the school climate is healthy and energised and the learning environment is optimised. Once the pond is healthy and functioning well, the mosquitoes become just a part of the ebb and flow of the ‘ecosystem’.

Connectedness to school and community has been described as a sense of ‘ ... belonging, attachment and reciprocal positive regard for not only individual adults but the institutions, policies and practices associated with the adult world’ (Whitlock, 2004). It is widely acknowledged that experiencing a sense of place, belonging and trust during adolescence promotes health and wellbeing and therefore enables learning. Staff also benefit from such an environment. As their own health and wellbeing is protected, they are not only more effective in their jobs but also become positive role models for young people. This congruence is an important aspect in successful schools.

The work of Michael Resnick has supported the notion that it doesn’t matter which sector the school operates in or where the school is ‘… the significant finding for the school – that bonding and attachment (was what was important) - it wasn’t the size of school, the student/teacher ratio or whether it was public or private or religious – those structural characteristics did not make a difference’ (Resnick, 1997).

The Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council (APAPDC) manages the MindMatters initiative, which was developed by the Dept of Health and Ageing in recognition of the need to address the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians. In fact, schools have been identified in the National Mental Health Strategy as a key setting for reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors, which are important determinants of mental health and well being. Underpinning the MindMatters initiative is the concept of a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, focusing on entire school communities and the processes within them to enhance the development of school environments where young people feel safe, valued engaged and purposeful. The MindMatters Implementation Model is based on the Health Promoting Schools’ framework and has three key dimensions:

1. School ethos and environment – allocating dedicated resources, clarifying and co-ordinating policies, structures and processes and ensuring positive communication and relationships across the school
2. Curriculum: teaching and learning – providing a whole student approach, teaching and learning for engagement and curriculum content and integration
3. Internal and external partnerships and services – transitions, developing internal and external referral pathways and partnerships and facilitating communities, families, parents and caregivers partnerships

This model has been developed from schools’ work with the MindMatters initiative over the last eight years as well as the MindMatters evaluations which highlight the importance of the continuum of connection for students. Leadership, staff understanding of mental health and wellbeing, links with other key initiatives and evidence based data and evaluation are considered as the key enablers of the MindMatters Whole School Implementation model. (Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2008)

In the MindMatters Level One Professional Development workshop, one activity encourages participants (teachers, student support staff, administrators, counsellors, parents, and so on) to identify the qualities they wish to instil in their students. The aim of the activity is to clarify beliefs, remind ourselves why we are in our chosen vocation and to consider the role of schools and community in developing these qualities. Invariably, characteristics such as empathy, respect, tolerance, resilience, caring and understanding are generated. Groups also identify academic success, but this tends to be listed after the above qualities. This is an authentic way of reinforcing the importance of schools as educators for life and reinforces the place of social and emotional learning across the school curriculum. Explicit and ongoing teaching of these skills facilitates the development of protective factors in young people.

Michael Carr–Gregg, honorary psychologist to the Victorian Association of Secondary School Principals, observes the following: ‘The challenge for Australian educational leaders is simple. It involves the incorporation of life skills into the curriculum and the creation of supportive environments at home and at school’ (Carr-Gregg, 2003). This challenge takes time, commitment and strategic planning. Schools that successfully create a caring environment do so consciously and strategically by providing sustainable leadership for mental health and wellbeing through the formation or strengthening of existing school core teams. Such teams help to guide and manage the mental health and wellbeing initiative within schools, like healthy goldfish adding colour and movement to the pond whilst providing nutrition to the plants.

The Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training Accountability and Performance Improvement Framework identifies six Key Result Areas to measure school performance including:

• teaching and learning
• student wellbeing and engagement
• student pathways and transitions
• organisational health and learning
• community engagement
• financial health.

These measures of school success not only take into consideration the academic results of students, but also consider the wellbeing of students and staff and the level of community engagement with the school. All but one of these result areas explicitly link to mental health and wellbeing and are evidenced as elements of the MindMatters Implementation Model described earlier. All school staff and members of the community can be leaders in the promotion of mental health and wellbeing. The MindMatters Focus Module, Leadership for Mental Health and Wellbeing deals with this and will be available on-line before the end of 2008. MindMatters has adopted the five propositions from the APAPDC’s L5 framework (APAPDC website, 2008) when considering effective leadership for mental health and wellbeing:

• Effective leadership for mental health and wellbeing starts from within
• Effective leadership is about positively influencing the mental health and wellbeing of others
• Effective leadership develops a rich learning environment for mental health and wellbeing within the classroom and in Professional Development
• Effective leadership builds professionalism and management capability for the mental health and wellbeing of students and staff
• Effective leadership inspires schools, parents and community to address mental health and wellbeing.
• Effective leaders and proactive school members can significantly impact upon a young person’s sense of connectedness to school and their academic success.

Indeed, ‘Research has demonstrated that a sense of connectedness or attachment to school is a protective factor for young people. There is an increasing awareness that schools can engage in deliberate strategies to build a secure and supportive school environment, and to promote health enhancing attitudes and behaviours’.
(Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2008).

The MindMatters resource and professional development can assist schools in enhancing the valuable work that they are already undertaking in this important area. This whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing is an essential ingredient in nurturing and maintaining the health of our Territory school ponds.

References
Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council (APAPDC) website at http://www.apapdc.edu.au/ Leaders Lead pages.
Carr-Gregg, M. (2003) ‘Youth, schools and suicide: tackling the youth suicide industry’. In The Bulletin of the Australian Psychological Society Vol. 25 Issue 2 pp.18-20.
Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council and MindMatters (2008) Whole school matters: A whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing for schools.
Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, MindMatters (2000) School matters: mapping and managing mental health in schools. MindMatters Section One
National Mental Health Strategy Evaluation Steering Committee (1997), Evaluation of the National Mental Health Strategy: Final Report. Mental Health Branch, Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, Canberra.
Northern Territory Government (2007). Department of Employment, Education and Training, Accountability and performance improvement framework: guide for schools
Resnick, M (22 September 1997). ABC Radio National’s Health Report.
Whitlock, J (2004). Places to be and places to belong: youth connectedness in school and community. Act for Youth Family Life Development Centre. Cornell Uni, Ithaca New York.
18 August 2008

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ms Karina Stevenson is MindMatters NT Project Officer, in Northern Territory, Australia