The Chronicle, Summer 2019

9 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Being and Doing Well Debra Clayphan added the new role of Head of Wellbeing to her existing position of Head of Learning Development at the start of the academic year. We caught up with her to find out what the new role entails, how it sits alongside Learning Development and what our coaching culture means for our pupils.

Christopher Cornwell

How do your two roles fit together? Developing a young person’s learning depends on their wellbeing. Happy young people will be productive young people. Wellbeing may seem a new buzz word but it’s not really new. Pastoral care has always been important, particularly here at Teddies.

university places and top results, and they face other pressures such as the constant presence of social media in their lives. There is a great deal for them to navigate during their teenage years. High expectations can be a force for good, of course. We believe that every single one of our pupils can achieve great things if they take responsibility for their learning, engage in their lessons and work hard. However we must not let their lives become unbalanced; we must not let them think that they are valued for what they achieve, rather than who they are.

So what’s the thinking behind the new role?

Young people face more and more pressures in today’s world. There are higher expectations of them in the race for

Debra Clayphan

Flora Welchman, Niamh Brown, Anna West, Nellie Needham and Ruby Faulkner