Education should be more than the pursuit of academic success—it should nurture well-rounded, emotionally resilient individuals. Schools should serve as environments where every young person is supported to develop self-belief, confidence, and pride. Yet, for many students today, the reality is far from this ideal. Exclusionary policies, punitive cultures, and a lack of focus on emotional well-being leave too many children and young people alienated, anxious, or struggling to cope. It is time to reimagine our schools as spaces that prioritize mental health, emotional and interpersonal growth, and inclusivity.

This campaign calls on the UK government to ensure that by the time young people leave secondary school, they are equipped with the emotional and interpersonal skills to navigate adulthood—alongside academic knowledge and self-discipline. We advocate for an education system that is compassionate, equitable, and designed to meet the diverse needs of all students.

The Value of Emotionally Healthy Schools

Research shows that emotionally healthy schools foster better academic outcomes, improve student engagement, and enhance overall wellbeing. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), interventions that promote social and emotional learning (SEL) are associated with long-term benefits, including improved mental health, reduced risk of depression, and enhanced interpersonal skills.[1]

Social and emotional learning programs teach skills such as emotional regulation, empathy, communication, and conflict resolution. Studies have found that students who participate in SEL programs demonstrate significant improvements in academic performance and reductions in behavioural issues. For instance, a recent study funded by the Education Endowment Fund found that pupils in schools that implemented a SEL programme made, on average, two additional months’ progress compared to those in the control group equivalent [2]. These programmes can also be cost-effective when considering the cost of delivery and the long-term economic benefit of nurturing these skills in pupils [3]

Emotionally healthy schools also reduce the stigma around mental health and create an environment where students feel safe to seek help. By fully and consistently embedding mental health education and support into the curriculum, schools can proactively address issues before they escalate into crises. This approach not only benefits individual students but also contributes to a positive school culture where everyone thrives. Although Relationships, Health and Sex Education has been universal in the current school curriculum since 2020, it is variable in its delivery and impact. This is also true for Department for Education Guidance (2021) for schools on the eight principles of a whole school approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing.

The Harm of Exclusion Policies

Exclusionary practices, such as suspensions and expulsions, undermine the core purpose of education. These policies disproportionately impact marginalized groups, including students from low-income families, ethnic minorities, those with special educational needs or disabilities, and care-experienced children. According to a 2021 report by the Children’s Commissioner, Black Caribbean students are 1.7 times more likely to be permanently excluded than their White peers.[4] Similarly, children with special educational needs account for 45% of all permanent exclusions, despite representing only 15% of the student population. ‘Managed moves’ are often a disguised method to pressure parents to move their children onto another school, without having 'exclusion' on their record.

Exclusion often leads to a downward spiral for affected students, increasing their likelihood of dropping out of school, engaging in criminal activity, and experiencing poor mental health. A 2017 study by the Institute of Public Policy Research found that excluded children are twice as likely to lack basic literacy skills and are significantly more likely to end up in the criminal justice system.[5]

Moreover, exclusion policies contribute to a punitive culture in education, where mistakes and challenges are met with harsh consequences rather than support and understanding. This approach fosters shame, alienation, and psychological distress, hindering students' ability to learn and grow. By focusing blame on individual children, these policies also ignore the underlying social and economic reasons for consistent disruptive behaviour, such as food poverty and overcrowded accommodation. It is imperative to shift away from punitive measures and towards restorative practices that prioritize empathy, accountability, and reintegration.

A Vision for Compassionate and Inclusive Schools

To create emotionally healthy and nurturing schools, we propose the following measures: 

1. Embed Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into the Curriculum: Every school should incorporate SEL programs that teach students how to manage emotions, build positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Government should establish SEL as a core component of education, alongside literacy and numeracy.

2. End Harmful Exclusion Policies: Schools should adopt restorative approaches to discipline that address the root causes of behavioural issues rather than excluding students. This includes conflict resolution programs, peer mediation, and trauma-informed practices that consider the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

3. Increase Mental Health Support: Every school should have access to trained mental health professionals who can provide counselling, early intervention, and crisis support. Additionally, school staff should receive training to recognize and respond to signs of mental distress in students, along with robust evidence (e.g. case studies of good practice) to better inform their intervention implementation decision making.

4. Promote Equity and Inclusion: Schools must actively address the systemic inequalities that contribute to disparities in education. This includes implementing anti-racist policies, providing tailored support for students with special educational needs, and ensuring that all children feel valued and respected. Neurodivergent children and young people should be provided with the same opportunities to thrive as other pupils, with focused interventions to support their mental health and wellbeing, such as time in nature [6].

5. Extend Ofsted Criteria into Social, Emotional, and Mental Health. Formal criteria for graded judgment of education providers should expand beyond ‘personal development’ to place more emphasis on the social and emotional wellbeing of the school community and their mental health. To be rated as ‘exemplary’ should equip all students with the highest levels of emotional and interpersonal literacy, and have a palpably nurturing and caring school environment with provision of qualified mental health practitioners.

6. Develop Mental Health and Wellbeing Training for School Staff. As part of both initial teacher training and ongoing continuing professional development, (prospective) school staff should have more extensive training and resources on supporting their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.

7. Support Staff Wellbeing: Teachers and school staff should have access to resources, training, and initiatives that support their emotional health and regulation. By fostering a supportive culture for staff, which would include reducing teacher workload and burnout, schools can ensure that educators are better equipped to create nurturing environments where students can thrive.

8. Foster a Culture of Compassion: School policies and practices should prioritize kindness, understanding, and each student's unique needs. This includes creating safe spaces for students to express themselves, celebrating diversity, and encouraging collaboration over competition.

9. Elicit, and Act on, Student Feedback. Schools should implement a student-led feedback process where students have a regular opportunity to self-assess the quality of their education, including their social and emotional learning environment.

The Role of Government and Policy

To achieve these goals, the UK government must take decisive action. This includes: 

• Funding for SEL Programs and Mental Health Services: Adequate funding is essential to implement and sustain initiatives that support emotional well-being. Schools need resources to train staff, hire mental health professionals, develop effective SEL curricula, and to build capacity so that they can adequately function as the ‘Tier 1’ mental health support providers they now are.

• Legislation to Reduce Teacher Burnout: The government should legislate to significantly reduce teacher workload and burnout and ensure teachers are not expected to work beyond, or at a very high intensity within, their directed time of 1,265 hours per academic year. This would also reduce the rate of teachers leaving the profession and increase the low intake of teacher training programmes.

• Legislation to Limit Exclusions: The government should set clear guidelines to reduce the use of suspensions and expulsions, ensuring that exclusion is used only as a last resort. Alternative approaches, such as managed moves and in-school support, should be prioritized.

• Monitoring and Accountability: Schools should be held accountable for their practices through regular inspections and reporting on metrics such as exclusion rates, mental health outcomes, and student satisfaction.

• National Standards for Emotional Wellbeing: The government should establish a framework for emotionally healthy schools, setting out best practices and minimum standards for supporting students’ mental health and emotional development.

Conclusion

The future of our society depends on the well-being of our young people; and it depends on our young people’s ability to evolve into cooperative, interpersonally skilled citizens, who can see beyond their own needs to consider the wellbeing of others and our planet. By transforming schools into emotionally healthy and nurturing environments, we can equip the next generation with the confidence, resilience, and empathy that they need—and that our society needs—to thrive. This campaign calls on the UK government to prioritize policies that promote compassion, inclusivity, and mental well-being in education. Together, we can create a system where every child feels valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.

ENDS

References

1.         National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Social, emotional and mental wellbeing in primary and secondary education. 2022; Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng223.

2.         Wigelsworth, M., E. Thornton, P. Troncoso, N. Humphrey, and L. Black, Incluisve (learning together): Evaluation report, 2023, Education Endowment Fund/University of Manchester.

3.         Humphrey, N., A. Hennessey, A. Lendrum, M. Wigelsworth, A. Turner, M. Panayiotou, . . . R. Calam, The PATHS curriculum for promoting social and emotional well-being among children aged 7–9 years: a cluster RCT. Public Health Research, 2018.

4.         Children's Commissioner. The state of children's mental health services 2020/21. 2021; Available from: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2021/01/cco-the-state-of-childrens-mental-health-services-2020-21.pdf.

5.         Gill, K., H. Quilter-Pinner, and D. Swift. Making the difference: Breaking the link between school exclusion and social exclusion. . 2017; Available from: https://www.ippr.org/articles/making-the-difference.

6.         Laftah, O., 'Eco-Relaxing in the natural world is for me’, eco-psychotherapy processes in green and blue spaces for all cultures and ages with neurodiverse conditions. Journal of Ecopsychology, 2024. 4: p. 1-4.