'Part of Who we are as a School Should Include Responsibility for Well-Being': Links between the School Environment, Mental Health and Behaviour

Drawing from a Scottish study, this article examines ways in which the school environment can impact upon the well-being of pupils and their associated behaviour. It identifies tensions between existing school structures and cultures and the promotion of positive mental health, particularly in relation to the curriculum, pastoral care, discipline and teacher/pupil relationships. In many cases, schools attempt to address mental well-being by bolting fragmented initiatives onto existing systems, and we argue that a more fundamental review of values, policies and practices throughout the school is needed. This paper also looks at the roles of interagency workers in schools, and reports that, in most cases, these workers are seen as offering a parallel service to the mainstream school, targeted at the most troubled or troublesome pupils. We suggest that schools should draw on the skills and understandings of these workers to help build new cultures throughout the school for the benefit of all children and young people.     

Constructing the Individual Education Plan: confusion or collaboration?

The Special Education Needs Code of Practice (2001) states that both parents and children should be actively involved in the decisions that surround the child's special educational need. In particular, it acknowledges the ‘unique knowledge’ that children have of their own needs and advocates that they should take part in the setting and evaluating of Individual Education Plan (IEP) targets. This small‐scale research project, involving Year 6 students in a mainstream junior school, investigates to what extent there is common agreement between the teacher, parent and child with regard to the nature of the child's need. Additionally, it examines to what extent partnership is expressed through the targets shown on the IEP and in particular whether the voice of the child is heeded. This article concludes by suggesting that while some children may be willing to engage with IEP targets that are teacher‐initiated, children whose voice is overlooked are in danger of becoming disengaged from learning.