Wellbeing for Learning & EngageMent fRameWork
Introduction
Stuartholme School is a Catholic independent Year 5 to 12 girls day and boarding school. Our approach to education is grounded by the goals of Sacred Heart education and centred on the formation of young women of courage, compassion, and confidence. This mission calls us to nurture not only intellectual growth but also the relational, emotional, and environmental conditions that allow students to flourish as whole people.
OUR
Wellbeing for Learning & EngageMent fRameWork
IS A COMPANION TO THE
Stuartholme
Pedagogical fRameWork
Where the Pedagogical Framework guides what we teach and how we engage students in the learning process, this framework defines the cultural, relational, and systemic enablers that make deep learning and personal growth possible.
Wellbeing is not a standalone program — it is shaped through the relationships, routines, environments, and structures that support student growth. This framework provides a strategic foundation to align our efforts, guide the evolution of practice, and ensure a more connected experience of wellbeing across every aspect of school life.
PEDAGOGICAL & WELLBEING
Companion FrameWorks
Pedagogical fRameWorks
Guides what and how we teach
Focuses on curriculum, instruction, and intellectual engagement
Builds habits of mind and learning behaviours
Centres the learner as an active participant in their learning
Enlivens the Graduate Vision through learning design and pedagogy
Wellbeing for Learning & EngageMent fRameWork
Shapes the environment that support learning
Focuses on relationships, culture, and processes
Builds agency, belonging, resilience and relational safety
Centres the learner as a co-creator of their wellbeing experience
Enlivens the Graduate Vision through cultural formation and relational support
HOW THE
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PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK
GRADUATE VISION
WELLBEING FOR LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Without a strong, beating heart, the brain cannot function.
Without safe, inclusive, and connected environments, deep learning cannot take place.
This framework places students at the centre of wellbeing and learning. It empowers them to shape their own experience - supported by staff and parents / carers who teach, lead, interact, and plan in ways that foster agency, belonging, and meaningful engagement. Through shared responsibility and partnership, students play an active role in creating the culture that supports their growth and formation.
• The Pedagogical Framework defines the intellectual and instructional approach to student learning.
• The Wellbeing for Learning and Engagement Framework defines the conditions, relationships, and systems that allow that learning to take place.
• Together, they bring to life our Graduate Vision: forming young women who are courageous, compassionate, confident, and agents of transformation.
THE BEATING
HeaRt of Our ScHool
At the centre of our existing Pedagogical Framework lies a beating heartsymbolising the values, relationships, and spiritual purpose that shape learning at Stuartholme. In this companion framework, we draw forward and elevate that heart, recognising that without intentionally developing the culture and conditions it represents, the pedagogical work of the classroom cannot thrive.
Just as a heart relies on four chambers to sustain life, this framework is sustained by four core chambers: People, Programs, Partnerships, and Practices.
These chambers represent the foundational elements that support student wellbeing, engagement, and learning across the school.
Yet a heart cannot function on structure alone. It requires Flow - purposeful, life-giving movement through and between each chamber. In our model, this movement is brought to life by four strategic enablers: Charism in Action, Empowered Voice, Relational Practice, and Spaces for Belonging - the vital processes that animate and sustain a flourishing culture.
ChambeRs THE FOUR
Chamber What it Represents How we see it in action
People
Programs
Partnerships
The relationships that shape trust, identity, and belonging within a Sacred Heart context.
The structured learning and care designed to support holistic student growth.
The shared responsibility between students, families, staff, and the wider community.
Practices
The everyday processes, routines, and behaviours that create consistency and clarity.
Teachers, Students and all staff, and every person who creates connection through everyday interactions.
Wellbeing curriculum, pastoral care, co-curricular opportunities, and student formation activities.
Respectful communication, coregulation, aligned values, and opportunities for collaboration.
Formation guidance, classroom routines, shared language, boarding routines and decision-making embedded in policies and relational philosophy.
THE FOUR STRATEGIC ENABLERS:
Our Flows of Wellbeing
These four flows bring the framework to life. They move through and between all four chambers, sustaining the culture and enabling the Graduate Vision to be realised.
Strategic enabler What it is
Charism in action
(FLOW OF PURPOSE)
Empowered voice
(FLOW OF AGENCY)
The Sacred Heart mission is not just spoken — it is lived. Values such as compassion, courage, and connectedness are intentionally embedded in relationships, rituals, curriculum, and decision-making.
Students and parents are recognised as active contributors to a flourishing school culture. Voice is more than expression — it shapes decisions, strengthens relationships, and affirms dignity.
How we see it in action
Daily practices grounded in Sacred Heart Goals, missionaligned leadership, value-rich language, and sacred rituals that foster belonging.
Student leadership, feedback processes, shared decisionmaking, co-designed wellbeing experiences, and responsiveness to student and parent perspectives.
Relational practice
(FLOW OF CONNECTION)
Spaces for belonging
(FLOW OF ENVIRONMENT)
Every interaction is authentic and is an opportunity to build or rebuild trust. Relational practices prioritise connection over compliance, and foster personal growth through empathy, shared accountability, and respectful dialogue.
Wellbeing is shaped by the environments we learn, live, and work in. From classroom climate to school rituals, every space sends a message about belonging and how we care for one another.
Collaborative problem-solving, restorative conversations, consistent language of care, and adult modelling of dignityaffirming behaviour.
Inclusive physical spaces, calm routines, affirming social norms, cultural safety, symbolic imagery, and visible commitments to welcome and inclusion.
Your example, even more than your words, will be an eloquent lesson to the world.
St Madeleine Sophie Barat
WHAT GUIDES
Our ThinKing
This framework is grounded in both our Sacred Heart tradition and contemporary research into the conditions that help young people flourish. Two most contemporary bodies of work, along with Positive Psychology, inform how we’ve designed the framework’s structure and flow
1. Contextual Wellbeing –Dr Helen Street
Helen Street’s Contextual Wellbeing model teaches us that student wellbeing is shaped not by isolated interventions, but by the environmental and cultural conditions of the school. This framework reflects her emphasis on:
• Supportive social norms
• Inclusive physical and emotional spaces
• Aligned systems, policies, and expectations
• A whole-school focus on what students experience day to day
Our Chambers of the Heart reflect these contextual elements - Programs, People, Partnerships, and Practices - and help us continually evaluate whether our environment supports student engagement, agency, and belonging.
2. Developmental Relationships –The SEARCH Institute
The SEARCH Institute identifies five key elements of developmental relationships that build trust, resilience, and character. These are:
• Express care
• Challenge growth
• Provide support
• Share power
• Expand possibilities
These elements shape our Strategic Enablers - the flows that animate and sustain the wellbeing framework. From Empowered Voice to Relational Practice, we intentionally design school life around the idea that wellbeing grows through what we do together, not just what we deliver to students.
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This framework is a living architecture - a way of understanding, evaluating, and evolving the conditions that support learning, belonging, and growth.
It provides:
• our community, with a shared language for wellbeing
• leadership, with a strategic direction
• students, a sense of agency and inclusion
Let us respect childhood; let us honour the soul of the small creature of God who can already make choices of the best if we take the time to awaken her reason and make her use her judgement.
St Madeleine Sophie Barat
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COLLABORATION
The Stuartholme Wellbeing for Learning and Engagement Framework was developed through a process of deep reflection, consultation, and strategic design in partnership with Transformative Schools. We gratefully acknowledge the guidance, expertise, and collaborative leadership that shaped this framework and supported its alignment with the Sacred Heart mission and Graduate Vision.