Researchers

Professor Lyndal Bond, Professor Daniel Wight, Dr

Marion Henderson, Paul Ballard

Background/Aim

The school environment can affect young people

beyond their capacity to learn and succeed

academically. There is evidence suggesting that

changing a school’s climate or ethos can affect a

number of health and wellbeing outcomes including

substance abuse and anti-social behaviour. However,

these effects are not currently well understood,

particularly within the Scottish educational context.

Our study aimed to assess current approaches to

improving school ethos in Scottish secondary schools

at a whole school level and examine the feasibility of

evaluating such approaches.

Project Outline/Methodology

In order to better understand the contextual factors

surrounding school ethos and health and wellbeing

we conducted qualitative interviews with 15 people

who have responsibility for implementing and

supporting education policy within Scotland, including

members of Education Scotland and education

officials in six Local Authorities. From these

interviews we identified four promising secondary

case study schools. In these schools we interviewed a

further 25 respondents including classroom teachers,

senior management and support staff.

Key Results

School ethos was seen as fundamental not only to

health and wellbeing but also to academic

attainment. We found a strong policy and education

context within Scotland for the development of

approaches to improve ethos and a wide and varied

range of promising current practices. However, there

were challenges for schools due to the non-

prescriptive nature of the Scottish curriculum.

Evaluation was accepted as necessary and desirable

although little evidence was found to suggest that

evaluation is routinely an integral part of educational

developments.

Case study schools demonstrated a range of

promising practices at whole school, classroom and

individual level. These practices and activities focused

on improving relationships, engaging pupils in school

and fostering a strong, safe community environment

rather than implementation of stand alone health and

wellbeing programmes.

Conclusions

A wide range of approaches to improve school ethos

was found along with a strong need to prioritise

health and wellbeing in secondary schools. Practices

in schools were focused on creating a supportive

environment for their students and staff rather than

implementation of programmes. No individual

programme was identified that was ready for rigorous

evaluation.

What does this study add to the field?

Many of the practices identified in this study are

closely related to the literature on school

connectedness, engagement and attachment

although schools themselves may not clearly

articulate this link between practice and theory.

Implications for practice or policy

This study, as with others, indicates that we may

need to rethink or move away from considering the

development and evaluation of discrete programmes

or packages to improve ethos, to developing

approaches that facilitate schools’ capacity to

explicitly choose, implement and reflect on evidence-

based practices or practices aligned to relevant

theories.

Where to next

This study has led to the development, and funding,

of a five year trial of Social Emotional Education and

Development (SEED) in Scottish Primary schools

which focuses on providing schools with local data

about their students and supporting schools to

choose activities and build on their practices to

address the needs identified in the data at the whole

school, classroom and individual level.

Further details from

Professor Lyndal Bond

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit

4 Lilybank Gardens

G12 8RZ

Email: lyndal@sphsu.mrc.ac.uk

Whole school interventions addressing multiple adolescent risk behaviours:

a feasibility study

Chief Scientist Office, St Andrews House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG Tel:0131 244 2248

www.cso.scot.nhs.uk

Scottish Government Health Directorates Chief Scientist Office