Well-being classes at school, as the Government invests in the economy of the future

The Education Secretary, Ed Balls, recently announced that lessons in happiness, well-being and good manners are to be introduced in all state secondary schools. This is a major step forward for education in the UK – one that begins to align the Education sector with some of the latest thinking from the world of business. By introducing this initiative, the Government is acknowledging that well-being, self-awareness and a sense of purpose are just as important as the tasks that pupils are required to complete in order to achieve their academic objectives.

Pilots of the ‘Seal’ programme (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) have already been successfully implemented in primary schools and have been found to boost both academic performance and discipline by helping children to better understand their emotions. So, the conclusion drawn by the Government is that it’s important for children to develop an emotionally intelligent way of approaching their work, as well as producing good results. Exactly the same is true for adults in the workplace.

The benefits of teaching children how to express their feelings, manage their anger and empathise with other people are expected to include creating calmer, more productive school environments, as well as boosting the concentration, engagement and motivation levels of students

It is no coincidence that these are the exactly same benefits that employers can expect when they commit to creating workplaces characterised by high levels of well-being and engagement. And this emerging alignment between the worlds of education and work bodes well for the future of the UK economy – because tomorrow’s employees are likely to enter the workplace with a much more mature and productive approach to work. They will bring with them a holistic attitude which will include an understanding of the importance of balancing work and life to deliver sustainable levels of high performance, more sophisticated people skills and higher levels of personal resilience.

When children spend 8-10 years in primary and secondary education it is little surprise that they often see the world of work as an extension of their schooling. Often, this is expressed as an expectation that they will be looked after and cajoled into producing their best results, rather than having to take personal responsibility for delivering results on an on-going basis. In this sense, the Government’s revolutionary well-being initiative is to be applauded and is likely to deliver major benefits to the economy in years to come.

Click here for the full article in from The Times.