10 Ways Primary & Secondary Schools Can Support Student Wellbeing
Student wellbeing isn’t just a buzzword; it’s foundation of a thriving school community in both primary and secondary settings. Supporting mental, emotional, physical, and social health can transform a student's learning experience — and has a profound impact beyond the classroom.
Whether it’s seeking external opportunities like student wellbeing programs or implementing small tweaks to the daily routine, here’s how primary and secondary staff can play an active role in nurturing wellbeing.
Promoting Student Wellbeing: Tips for Teachers
When schools prioritise wellbeing, they create an environment where students feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed. It’s not just about addressing challenges when they arise — it’s about building a foundation that helps students navigate life’s ups and downs with confidence.
1. Create a Wellbeing Hub
A dedicated space where students feel welcome to recharge, reflect, and relax can make a big difference. Comfortable seating, calming colours, and resources like mindfulness cards or stress balls are great additions. It doesn’t have to be fancy — it just needs to feel inviting and inclusive, a quiet area for any student to take a breather when things feel overwhelming.
Spaces like this are especially helpful in teaching emotional regulation and healthy coping mechanisms on those not-so-great days.
2. Build a Strong Sense of Belonging
When students feel connected to their peers and school community, their mental health thrives. Three ideas for creating an environment of belonging at school:
Create mentor systems pairing older and younger students.
Organise school events that celebrate diversity and individuality, outside of academics or sporting activities.
Encourage student-led initiatives like clubs — they’ll feel ownership and pride in their school, while forming connections with likeminded peers.
3. Focus on Teacher-Student Relationships
Sometimes, just knowing a teacher genuinely cares can brighten a student's day. After training teachers on active listening and empathy techniques, schools should promote regular one-on-one check-ins between teachers and students.
Creating positive relationships between students and teachers can be as simple as celebrating special moments in the classroom, from birthdays to awards. Pay attention when your students achieve milestones whether at school or otherwise, and let them know; it matters.
4. Integrate Movement & Mindfulness Breaks
Sitting for hours isn’t great for anyone, let alone growing children. And just like their bodies, your students’ minds also need a break from the classroom every now and then. Movement and mindfulness can really boost focus and mood.
This can include a quick walk outdoors, or organised activities like scavenger hunts in primary schools and a quick classroom yoga session in secondary settings. For the mind, we suggest this 2-minute meditation.
5. Teach “Life Skills” Beyond the Curriculum
From conflict resolution to managing stress, life skills are arguably more important for long-term wellbeing than anything else you’ll learn at school. At The Big Sister Experience, we focus on holistic ‘life education’ workshops for primary and secondary students, covering everything from anxiety management to social media, safe partying, relationships and consent… the works! Our mission is to leave students feeling more empowered, at school and at home.
Meanwhile, you can embed lessons on building healthy relationships, budgeting and financial literacy (especially in secondary schools), and problem-solving strategies students can use in everyday life.
7. Encourage Student Voice in Decision-Making
Everyone wants to feel like their feelings matter. When students feel heard, they feel valued. Involve them in decision-making with initiatives like a Student Representative Council or leadership roles, where every student can vote on things like:
School rules and policies (within reason!).
Design choices for common areas or uniforms.
Topics for extracurricular activities or wellbeing programs.
8. Connect Families to Resources
Parents often want to help but don’t know where to start. Schools can bridge the gap by providing families with resources that help them support their children, aligning with all your hard work at school. Maybe you can run parent education nights with experts (like us!) or even sendc regular newsletters as certain issues come up.
We’ve been empowering families with a parent anxiety seminar and free downloadable materials — you’re welcome to pass these on to the families at your school.
9. Promote Peer Mentoring
Students often open up more to peers than adults. Set up mentoring programs where older students guide younger ones, whether it’s about settling into school life or managing study stress.
In primary schools, it’s common to buddy up Prep students with Year 6’s — but when those students transition into Year 1, their buddy has moved on to high school! Consider assigning these Year 1 students a new Year 6 mentor the following year for a little extra support.
10. Incorporate Nature Into Daily Routines
Time outdoors can reduce stress and boost happiness. Secondary students in particular might be feeling the strain of academic pressure, so just getting out of the classroom and taking the mind off schoolwork for a bit can do wonders. Consider how you can incorporate a trip outside into your class. Some schools even run amazing gardening projects where students can grow flowers, herbs, or vegetables.
Small Steps, Big Impacts
Student wellbeing doesn’t have to mean major overhauls. It’s about creating an environment where students feel safe, supported, and inspired to thrive. Whether it’s a new program, a quiet corner, or simply listening more; every step counts.
By making wellbeing a priority, schools can nurture a generation that’s not only academically prepared but emotionally resilient and ready to take on the world.
That’s our guiding mission at The Big Sister Experience. Want to chat about how we can help you meet your school’s wellbeing goals? Book a call now.