Wellbeing | Student Wellbeing At Halcyon London International School

Wellbeing

Building Character For The Future

At Halcyon we provide a character building education fit for the realities of 21st century.

Social, emotional and cognitive skills fill The World Economic Forum’s Top 10 skills required by employers in the future. We develop these skills through a comprehensive student mentoring programme, in which every student receives mentoring from an assigned member of staff: all of whom – teaching and administrative – are trained in cognitive coaching.

Our commitment to restorative practice develops students’ self-management and collaboration skills: key to success and fulfilment in the workplace. Restorative practice prioritises dialogue, self-reflection and the consideration of others. It promotes a culture built around shared values, not rules, mirroring top university and professional environments.

All of this is underpinned by our broad IB curriculum and extra-curricular offer, known as Explorations. The project and enquiry based approach to the IB encourages collaboration and creative approaches to problem solving. Our extra-curricular Explorations programme, designed in collaboration with our students, encourages them to take responsibility for developing their broader interests.

Why Cognitive Coaching Boosts University Preparation

Wellbeing plays an important role in our school because it serves as the foundation upon which students can flourish academically, emotionally, and socially. When students feel safe, valued, and supported, they are more engaged, motivated, and open to learning.

Nito Harvey, Student Wellbeing Leader

Mentoring & Cognitive Coaching

All our teachers are trained as cognitive coaches, and all students are assigned a teacher-mentor. Each student receives at least 15 minutes of private conversation with their mentor each week. Utilising the structured conversational strategies developed in their training, mentors guide their group of Grade 6-12 students to find their own solutions and areas for personal development.

“Even though the middle years of school might be tough, having a mentor helps everyone feel supported, and definitely creates a positive ripple effect across the community.” – Sofia, Grade 9

PSHE

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education engages students in energetic school-wide activities to foster their collaborative and leadership skills. One activity involved learning to cooperate through political gameplay – please visit our blog on social and emotional learning to read more.

“Spending time together helps us see perspectives that are different from our own when it comes to our personal development.” – Nima, Grade 8

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is “about allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly.” All our teachers are cognitively trained and embed mindfulness practices into classroom lessons to encourage effective and focused learning.

“You need to be in a good mindspace to study properly – at Halcyon, everyone understands that. It’s good to spend some time to refocus.”- Defne, Grade 8

Restorative Practice

Restorative Practice ensures that students never feel inclined to step away from our learning environment, inspiring students to take personal responsibility in resolving conflict and building healthier relationships with each other.

Read more about Restorative Practice.


Wellbeing in the Curriculum

Shaping a supportive environment of social and emotional learning means integrating our Wellbeing Programme into all areas of school life: everyone in our community shares an understanding that this is critical to academic engagement. This is supported through the IB Learner Profile, IB Approaches to Learning, parent wellbeing workshops and teacher feedback to the Wellbeing Team. Our curriculum, our PSHE programme, and our school Explorations Programme provide spaces for our students to understand the importance of agency, advocacy and civic literacy. These are skills that equip students to navigate their experiences and build resilience.

Wellbeing Team

We have a dedicated Wellbeing Lead as part of our Senior Leadership Team, ensuring Wellbeing is a central part of strategic discussion and decision making. Our Wellbeing Team liaises with universities to research and develop practices that integrate social and emotional learning into all areas of student life. Halcyon is the only school in the world to lead a comprehensive programme of cognitive coaching, through which every student is assigned their own mentor.



Testimonials

Thoughts from our community and visitors on Halcyon’s Wellbeing Programme.

Grade 10 Parent


“Halcyon’s support to the wellbeing of students is exceptional. A definite strength of Halcyon is the extra effort, resources such as specialist staff and time that the Entire staff commit to not only the academic excellence of students, but their mental wellbeing as well.”

The Good Schools Guide


“All staff devote 10 per cent of their time to helping pupils learn to self-manage and self-regulate, develop confidence and resilience, while mindfulness training teaches them to cope with stress and upset.”

Click the logo to read the full Good Schools Guide 2023 Review.

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

“Halcyon’s innovative and caring approach is attracting families looking for a school that approaches learning for students with a balance between social-emotional wellbeing, academic rigor and a focus on lifelong learning.”

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Halcyon London International School | Ages 11-18 | International Baccalaureate | Co-educational


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