The Educator Magazine U.K. Jan-April 2024 issue - Magazine - Page 66
How schools can help students
flourish by making well-being
the focus of everything they do
By Barry Mansfield, Director, Halcyon London International School
In the ten years since Halcyon opened
in 2013, we have created a fresh, holistic
approach to well-being in our school. It
is about developing students’ social and
emotional skills, providing them with
the essential platform to be successful
- both academically and personally. It’s
something I believe that other state
and independent schools - and their
students - could benefit from hugely.
Our take on wellbeing, centred around
our International Baccalaureate (IB)
curriculum, provides students with a
sense of agency and purpose with their
learning. Something that traditional
curricula such as GCSEs and A-levels
struggle to encourage.
We teach the IB Middle Years
Programme (11-16 years) and the IB
Diploma Programme (16-18 years).
These are curricula that transcend traditional knowledge acquisition. Unlike
other syllabuses, the IB
consistently encourages students
to understand knowledge in a real-life
context, fostering a deeper connection
to their studies. This philosophy is exemplified in our Environmental
Science programme, for instance,,
where students are currently learning
from researchers at London Zoo about
the conservation of hedgehogs and
exotic snails. Witnessing the practical
application of the zoological
information they are acquiring makes
our students more than just learners:
they are contributors to a wider
purpose, boosting their sense of
achievement and self-worth.
The Theory of Knowledge element
within the IB leads students to consider
the ethical dimensions of their
learnings. Through our innovative use
of technology, history students recently
curated an exhibition in a custom-made
virtual museum. They explored how
and why their acquired knowledge
might be framed in a particular way.
The IB and our innovative teaching of
it, provide a roadmap for students to
navigate the complexities of the world
as it is and will be and give them a clear
sense of their place within it.