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The case for wellbeing champions
Schools are stable, organised environments that are centred on learning, which provides a natural opportunity to educate and raise awareness of wellbeing issues through the use of wellbeing champions.
• Children acting as wellbeing champions can help to remove the barriers some young people feel there are in reaching out for support for their wellbeing. Some may prefer to talk to a peer or someone they identify with rather than an adult. Some may also be more likely to take on board advice from a peer than from an adult. Talking to a wellbeing champion may then increase their confidence in going on to speak to others about it.
• ‘Nothing about us without us’. Children deserve to have a voice and to be more involved. Wellbeing agendas, though well intended, can sometimes feel like they are being ‘done to us’, by adults or health professionals. Having pupil wellbeing champions increases collaboration, ownership and responsibility.
• Peer support also increases confidence and happiness in the peer supporter as they are left with the feeling they are benefiting their peers and providing a service that is needed as well as giving them further skills to help support their own wellbeing if they ever need.
• Evidence suggests well managed peer support projects can improve self-reported happiness and wellbeing, as well as improve self-esteem, confidence, emotional resilience, relationships, social skills and school behaviour (as surmised from Department for Education, 2017). It is also suggested that peer support projects can have wider ‘whole school’ benefits due to fostering a cooperative community based on trust, respect, communication and helping others (Cowie and Smith, 2010).
