An evaluation of the school based wellbeing intervention welcome to wellbeing for young children

Abstract

Background: Wellbeing has become a valued aspect of education in recent years. However, further exploration of wellbeing and wellbeing interventions with young children still needs to be completed. Additionally, there needs to be more emphasis on including the voice of young children as a central aspect of wellbeing research. This paper begins by providing an overview of the literature on school-based wellbeing interventions for young children. Aim: The empirical study examines Welcome to Wellbeing, a school-based, teacher-led wellbeing intervention for junior infants to first class pupils (ages 4-8). A mixed methods design was used to determine the effectiveness and perceptions of the programme. The impact of this programme on resilience and emotional regulation, in particular, is explored. Sample: Two co-educational primary schools were involved in this study. Senior infants pupils (n = 75) between 5-7 years old and their teachers (n = 6) participated. Method: A mixed method design was used, which employed a pupil-completed quantitative wellbeing measure, teacher interviews, and pupil focus groups to address the research questions and aims. Results: The findings indicate that following the intervention, the experimental group had significantly higher resilience levels than the control group. Qualitative results also indicate new and emerging emotional regulation skills. Teachers and pupils reported positive perceptions of the programme, with the characters and strategies noted as providing a good base for pupil wellbeing. The content load in the limited timeframe and the real-life application of skills were identified as the main barriers to implementation. Conclusions: Overall, the Welcome to Wellbeing programme may be a valuable tool for teaching the Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum and enhancing aspects of wellbeing in schools. The implications of these findings for future practice and research are discussed.