Addressing pupil anxiety with a culture of positive mental health

Rachel Bostwick, Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University Walk through the gates of an average school and you’re likely to find a child anxious about schoolwork, friendships or a situation at home such as a family break up or a sick relative. Wellbeing issues such as anxiety can have a significant impact on a child’s learning outcomes. According to the Department for Education (DfE), pupil wellbeing is an accurate predictor of academic progression and engagement in school. In one study published by Public Health England (2014), pupils with better emotional wellbeing at the age of seven were found to have made over one term’s more progress than those who had experienced emotional difficulties. In another study of eight and nine year-olds conducted by the Research School of Psychology at the Australian National University (n.d.), children participating in a verbal recall task heard a series of 15 words five times and were asked to repeat all the words they c