“I have learnt to not doubt my strengths” – Lessons from one school’s Positive Education programme

If we think about our future hopes for children and young people, then it's likely we would want them to be happy, confident and content. The irony is that we don't teach children this in schools. Rather, children are taught how to achieve success through learning thinking skills and discipline. Over the past decade, there have been some good examples of schools tackling wellbeing as a whole school approach and helping young people boost their wellbeing and their mental health, just as they do with physical health. 

The theme of Children's Mental Health Week 2025 is teaching children self-awareness and resilience.  While in the current climate it isn't always possible for schools to ensure children's wellbeing is a priority, some minor changes could have positive results.  

What is Positive Education? 

St. Swithun's School in Winchester wanted to explore the idea that early intervention in mental health difficulties could serve as a proactive rather than a reactive approach to mental health and resilience. For the last seven years, they've adopted a model of positive education which considers alternative models for building resilience in pupils. St Swithun's was initially sceptical of whether a model of positivity could change pupils' attitudes and help them develop good mental health. 

However, the experience of the last seven years has demonstrated that their doubts weren't necessary. St Swithun's adopted the Geelong Grammar School model of positive education which is visually depicted as six leaves coming together in a circle that's supported by character strengths, with flourishing at the core. The leaves represent the six domains of positive education, (positive emotions, positive relationships, positive purpose, positive meaning, positive health, and positive engagement) or those things that are 'taught' in lessons. Each domain has a set of skills and evidence-informed concepts. 

Underpinning each of the 'taught' domains are character strengths which act as the supporting pathways to the teaching. Character strengths are important for personal wellbeing and play an important role in a person's positive development. Schools are very good at celebrating specific talents, like music and sport, but are less good at identifying the character strengths which enable individuals to achieve these successes. 

By embedding character strengths in everything schools do, you can reverse the focus on worries and difficulties, celebrate the good in each pupil and develop self-awareness. Traditional teaching of character strengths enables students to connect and steer conversations away from problems and into resilience. Furthermore, if it's done well, it can turn strengths into habits.  

Positive Education at St. Swithun's School, Winchester  

St Swithun's School have a positive education curriculum which benefits all students from Year 7-13. The Year 7 pupils receive the most teaching, which focuses on helping pupils understand what makes them feel good and how to do good. By learning these principles, pupils develop the ability to make the most of their lives and flourish. St Swithun's achieved this by considering two key concepts within the curriculum: Optimism and Resilience. 

Since 2018, younger pupils have between 30 - 60 minutes of positive education lessons each week, and the upper years have 'top-up' lessons to help them continue developing wellbeing skills needed to live positively, particularly through transitions. St Swithun's firmly believes that what happens inside the classroom should also carry on at home. Newsletters are sent to parents outlining what lessons in Positive Education cover and also suggest activities that can be continued at home. There is a Positive Education parenting programme that happens yearly, which teaches parents about the skills that the children are learning in the classroom. The impact of the Positive Education programme has been visible in the pupil's' reflections and has helped them become more self-aware. They have a better understanding of who they are and how to cope with adversity. The following quotes are from pupils:  

• "It's helped me to be more thoughtful to others" 
• "I tried the kindness ripple for a day, and it made me feel happier" 
• "It's helped me deal with stress which sometimes can be overwhelming"  
• "It's opened my mind and made me see things differently" 
• "It's helped me get stuck in and not be afraid of asking questions"  
• "I have learnt how to get past a negative time"  
• "I have learnt to not doubt my strengths"  

Obviously, not all schools and education settings can commit to the positive education model proposed, but schools could adopt some ideas from positive psychology and positive education in order to promote self-awareness and resilience and place it firmly on the agenda for young people.