Whole-school Policies Research Articles

What role should schools play in the prevention of disordered eating in children and young people?

Whilst clinical eating disorders are relatively uncommon in children and young people, a much larger proportion are thought to experience subclinical difficulties with eating, termed ‘disordered eating’. Given that the issue is so widespread and many young people experiencing disordered eating do not meet the criteria for specialist eating disorder services, schools have a responsibility to work systemically to reduce the prevalence of these difficulties. Educators may be able to use some of the risk factors for disordered eating, including body dissatisfaction, parental pressure to lose weight, peer influence and internalisation of food rules, to inform preventative strategies. These strategies may include, but not be limited to, implementing curriculum changes such as teaching about body image and nutrition education in developmentally appropriate ways, as well as considering whole-school policy changes such as specifying weight-related victimisation in the school’s anti-bullying policy and deliberating the school’s involvement in national child weighing schemes. Taken together, schools have the potential to play a critical role in reducing disordered eating in children and young people. Educational psychologists are well-positioned to raise educators’ awareness of disordered eating and support senior leadership teams implement these preventative strategies in an evidence-informed way as well as considering the role disordered eating might play in their own casework.

Analysis of whole-school policy changes in Austrian schools.

Health Policies with school-wide effects have been shown to improve the health of students and school staff, but in practice, schools struggle with this approach. Ten Austrian schools which had recently adopted new time structure policies were investigated: On the basis of 19 interviews with school staff, we used thematic analysis to identify facilitating and hindering factors for the implementation processes. Furthermore, agency analysis was applied, in which the interviewees' use of language was interpreted to estimate their perception of their own agency in the context of policy change. We found that in schools where policy changes were perceived as successfully implemented, staff was convinced of the benefits. In these schools, time structures were understood to directly influence learning and teaching processes and staff members showed a strong feeling of agency. On the other hand, schools were confronted with hindering factors similar to those known from the implementation of other health policies. The results are discussed in the light of current implementation practices, and conclusions for practitioners are drawn.

The Survey of School Promotion of Emotional and Social Health (SSPESH): A Brief Measure of the Implementation of Whole-School Mental Health Promotion

This paper describes the development of a brief school-based instrument designed for use in research and in educational practice. The Survey of School Promotion of Emotional and Social Health differentiates states of high, moderate, and low implementation of whole-school policies and practices that promote the emotional and social health of students. The instrument measures the extent to which a school has implemented policies and practices in four health-promoting domains: (a) creating a positive school community, (b) teaching social and emotional skills, (c) engaging the parent community, and (d) supporting students experiencing mental health difficulties. Responses were gathered via an online survey of Principals in almost 600 Australian primary schools in New South Wales. Preliminary psychometric properties of the instrument, and the development of an implementation index using latent class analysis, are described. The final 13-item version of the survey has broad applicability for use by researchers and evaluators for comparative and multivariate analyses. School leadership may find it useful as a brief tool to guide the identification of target areas for whole-school improvement across the four important health-promoting domains.

The feedback conundrum

Achieving a whole-school marking policy that satisfies students, parents and teachers might just be impossible. Dr Bernard Trafford instead urges a focus on some simple tenets of good feedback…

Tobacco control guide for school nurses: Electronic cigarettes

Tobacco smoking remains a public health priority and school nurses have an important role to play in tobacco control. Even though the majority of smoking-related deaths are in people aged 35 years or older, the onset of smoking occurs primarily in adolescence, and most adult smokers report that they began smoking before the age of 18. There is also evidence of early physical harm from child and adolescent smoking. The first article in this mini-series looked at how school nurses can get involved in tobacco control, including whole-school policies and support for individuals. This second article focuses on electronic cigarettes, looking at use prevalence, discussing potential public health benefits and offering recommendations for school nurses.

Tobacco control and young people: A guide for school nurses

Tobacco smoking remains a public health priority and school nurses have an important role to play in tobacco control. Even though the majority of smoking-related deaths are in people aged 35 years or older, the onset of smoking occurs primarily in adolescence, and most adult smokers report that they began smoking before the age of 18, and over 80% before the age of 20. There is also evidence of early physical harm from child and adolescent smoking. This article looks at how school nurses can get involved in tobacco control, including whole-school policies and support for individuals.

"Bursting" to Go and Other Experiences.

Children's use of the toilet at school, although rarely explored, is an important facet of school experience with consequences for physical and psychological health. A mixed methods study investigated views of 25 children (4-5 years) regarding potential stressors in the first school year, including views of toileting, in Dublin, Ireland. Despite very positive responses to school, most responses to toileting (15 of 25) were mixed or negative. Although some liked to go, or noted the toilets were clean, most indicated delayed toilet use ("bursting" to go) and ambivalent or negative experiences such as fear of not identifying the right toilet, fear of being alone, lack of privacy, and potential bullying. Many children did not expect to receive help from the teacher. As delaying toilet use can have lasting health consequences, teacher-nurse collaboration could be used to develop whole-school policies to support children's early adjustment in this sensitive area of functioning.

Holistic Approach as Viewed by the Basic School Teachers in Latvia

Abstract The article points to new competencies required from basic school teachers, reinforced by the reform processes in the educational system in Latvia, the quality assurance of educational process, and modernisation and critical re-evaluation of educational materials and standards. The authors view sustainability as an integral part of reform processes in the country. The aim of the study is to evaluate the perspective of basic education teachers from the diverse regions of Latvia on the use of holistic approach for shaping the content of basic education. The authors have analysed basic school teachers’ understanding of a holistic approach towards teaching and a learner. By means of a survey the authors have explored the features of teachers’ perception of a holistic approach to their teaching. The authors conclude that sustainability cannot be left to the initiative of individual teachers but should be implemented as a whole-school policy.

Professional Development Priorities

A questionnaire survey of secondary school middle managers within one LEA was conducted in 1997 to ascertain how far their professional development priorities reflected their changing role. The author argues that the results indicate a growing acceptance of middle management responsibility for departmental performance measured by the results of SATs and external examinations. Thus there is an acceptance of the need to carry out managerial tasks of monitoring, evaluating, addressing problems of pupil performance and teaching competence, and of the need to plan departmental developments within the framework of whole-school priorities. However there is no widespread feeling that the middle manager should provide leadership by contributing to the shaping of whole-school policies or taking responsibility for the overall professional development of subject staff. How far the subject leader will be able to fulfil this leadership role will, it is argued, depend upon a changing senior management perception of the middle manager’s role; how far the teaching and administrative burden of the middle manager is lessened; and whether appraisal can remain a tool of genuine professional development rather than becoming a device for teacher assessment.

Guidance as a whole school approach in Hong Kong: From remediation to student development

This paper presents the key guidance policy andpractice in Hong Kong schools. Initially, guidanceservices were reactive and remedial, aimed mainly atproblem students. Appraisal of the negative effects ofthe individual casework model led to a change to 'awhole school approach' to guidance. The focus ofguidance at the school level changed concomitantlyfrom remediation to prevention. This paper alsodiscusses the future development of the schoolguidance system in Hong Kong, specifically in the areaof developmental guidance. On the conceptual level, aclear distinction between remedial, preventive anddevelopmental guidance is needed. On the level ofpractice, the need is for the development of a wholeschool policy, a developmental guidance curriculum,and a clarification of the connection betweenguidance and discipline.

How Learning Support is Perceived by Mainstream Colleagues

Alison Bearn and Colin Smith look at the commitment of mainstream subject teachers to special needs pupils, a still relatively unexplored area. Through questionnaires and detailed interviews, they extract information that confirms that ‘territorial boundaries’ and other factors continue to inhibit support teaching. They conclude that teacher attitudes and possible antipathy remain stubborn stumbling blocks to the implementation of whole‐school policies.

Developing and Implementing a Whole-School Policy for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

The OFSTED inspection report on Stalham High School praised the quality of its pastoral care and PSE, but also noted that the promotion of students' cultural and spiritual development across the whole curriculum was less satisfactory. The writer describes how the school set about responding to this weakness through the development of a whole-school policy. It was decided to develop an overarching policy for social, moral, cultural and spiritual development. Once an outline policy was produced, the views of staff were sought in a way which also increased their awareness of and involvement in the programme.

Bullying in schools: The UK experience and the Sheffield Anti-Bullying project

School bullying has become a topic of public concern and considerable research in the UK over the last decade. It has been found to be quite extensive in school peer groups: characteristics of such bullying, based on survey results, are summarised. The design and results of the Sheffield AntiBullying Project, which assisted and monitored interventions in 23 schools, is then described. Interventions comprised a whole-school policy; curriculum interventions; playground work; and interventions with specific individuals and groups of pupils. Significant reductions in bullying were obtained. The Project resulted in a Pack, distributed nationwide to over 19,000 schools in England.

Why Do Children Bully? An Evaluation of the Long-Term Effectiveness of a Whole-school Policy to Minimize Bullying

(1991). Why Do Children Bully? An Evaluation of the Long-Term Effectiveness of a Whole-school Policy to Minimize Bullying. Pastoral Care in Education: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 8-12.

INSET Issues and Whole‐School Policies

Issues raised by an in‐service course encouraging a whole‐school approach are discussed by Heather Arthur, deputy county TVEI coordinator for Bedfordshire.

Facing Transitions: The Primary School Experience

Whole-school policies and a structured transition at 11 will support children's innate adaptability