Creating a community of respect, trust and openness

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Robbie Davies

Head of Safeguarding and Mental Health

A strong and supportive school community does not just happen. It is a work in progress that requires lots of attention and effort. At Wellington College International Shanghai, we are constantly looking for ways to foster the wellbeing of our pupils, parents and staff. And while there is always room for adaptation and innovation, it ultimately comes down the creating an environment of respect, trust and openness. 

Cultivating respect

Respect is important enough to be enshrined as one of our five Wellington Values. This academic year, we decided to make it a focus. Of course, we expect our pupils to live this value, but our staff must also lead by example, so we spent a lot of time thinking about ways that we can truly demonstrate and embody Respect in all facets of the word. Within the newly extended pastoral time in the mornings, we have asked pupils to reflect on questions like, “What does respect for our environment look like in a DT lab? What does it look like on the football pitch? What does respect for our peers look like? For our teachers? And, vitally, what does it look like for all the adults on campus, like the cleaning staff, food service workers and security guards who keep our school running?” The best responses have been shared and are forming the basis for ongoing projects across the year.

Our pastoral team also decided that it was time to sweat the small stuff and focus on those little everyday interactions around the College. One way we are doing this is by simply posting stickers around campus that encourage positive routines (especially helpful for our younger Wellingtonians) which our Marketing department did a fine job producing. A sticker on a door, for instance, may say, “Be polite. Hold the door. Say please and thank you”. Another great example is our ‘Above and Beyond’ cards. We now give these to all adults on site, even visitors. If they witness a pupil putting one of our Values of Courage, Integrity, Kindness, Responsibility and Respect into action, they hand this card to them. These may seem like tiny gestures, but they make difference. Start small, and you can build a positive feedback loop. Eventually, it becomes a habit ingrained into the school culture.

Building trust

We are a community. A community is a complex network of relationships. And relationships cannot thrive without a solid foundation of trust. Having spent so many months apart to remain compliant with local pandemic regulations, we knew that we needed to focus on fortifying our relationships upon returning to campus this year. As such, our new pastoral structure has seen heads of year and dedicated tutor teams replace heads of houses as the key pastoral support for our pupils. With this in mind, new pastoral time at the start of each day has given tutors and heads of year the time to build those connections and start to develop that trust. 

Additionally, Our Pupil Services team has seen several new staff join this year. We have renewed our focus on building relationships between our team — counsellors, coaches and safeguarding — and the wider academic staff. This has meant reaching out to academic departments and offering guidance on how to promote positive emotions in the classroom, as well as support those who are emotionally fragile or vulnerable.

Promoting openness

Growing up is always a challenge. One can easily imagine how that challenge might be compounded with a global pandemic in the background. That is why this year, we have made it a mission to let our pupils know that there is always someone available should they need to talk. QR codes have been posted around the campus, and a quick scan can connect them to a qualified staff member if they are struggling or feeling down. It is completely discreet and accessible for pupils, as demonstrated by the number of scans already.  

Moreover, we have continued to build on our now-established curriculum of wellbeing lessons across every phase of the College. These lessons provide another forum where our children can express themselves, share their thoughts and discover common ground. This year, these lessons are being supported by parallel activities in pastoral time, planned by the team. A primary theme starting this year has been ‘success’ and what it looks like to our pupils. Their insight into how they measure their own relative successes may surprise, and we will be looking to share this with our parent bodies as we begin our parental programme. Our pupils continue to impress us with their capacity for self-reflection and we look forward to building on these strengths in the months to come.

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