What is a Positive Education Program? A Guide for Schools

As a Head Teacher, Senior Mental Health Lead or pastoral leader, you are likely navigating a complex landscape of rising mental health needs, attendance pressures, and the constant drive for academic attainment. On top of this, you're facing workload demands and new Ofsted framework changes focusing on personal development and wellbeing. You might be asking: how do we move beyond reactive "fire-fighting" to a sustainable culture of wellbeing?

The answer lies in a robust Positive Education Program. Far from being "fluffy" or an add-on, a well-structured Positive Education Program acts as the engine room for a stratagic approach to wellbeing and supporting mental health. It equips staff and students with the psychological skills to thrive, not just survive.

In this post, we explore what constitutes an effective Positive Education Program, the evidence-based frameworks we utilise, and how you can implement these strategies to empower your school community.

What is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology, often referred to as the "science of wellbeing," is a research-based field focused on understanding and enhancing the aspects of life that lead to flourishing individuals and communities. Rather than solely addressing problems or deficits, positive psychology emphasises character strengths, resilience, and the development of skills that enable people to thrive. At the heart of Positive Education lies the application of these principles to create holistic approaches to mental health and wellbeing within school environments.

Our programs are grounded in evidence-based frameworks, ensuring that educators and students gain tools that are not only practical but also rooted in rigorous scientific research. This commitment to the science of wellbeing has helped thousands of educators and students build resilience, foster positive relationships, and unlock their full potential.

Defining a Positive Education Program

A Positive Education Program is an intervention or strategy that brings the science of Positive Psychology into the school or educational setting. It does not replace the academic curriculum but rather underpins it, based on the principle that wellbeing and learning are inextricably linked.

Effective programs are not one-off assemblies; they are structured, developmental pathways. Drawing from our extensive experience and the broader evidence base, key elements of a successful Positive Education Program include:

• Skill Acquisition: Teaching specific, teachable skills for resilience, emotional regulation, and identifying character strengths.
• Student Empowerment: Moving away from doing things to students, to doing things with them. This includes peer-led initiatives where young people lead wellbeing campaigns.
• Prevention Focused: Aiming to reduce the risk of mental health problems before they escalate to clinical thresholds.
• Stigma Reduction: Creating a language and culture of wellbeing where seeking help is normalised.
• Connection and Belonging: Fostering positive relationships between peers and between staff and students, which is a protective factor for mental health.

Why We Integrate the SEARCH Framework with Coaching

At Worth-it, our approach is distinct. We do not believe in "off-the-shelf" solutions that fail to account for the unique context of UK schools. Instead, we ground our programmes in the SEARCH framework and evidence-based Coaching Psychology.

The SEARCH Framework

We utilise the SEARCH Pathways to Wellbeing framework (Waters & Loton, 2019) to provide a scaffold for our programmes. This ensures we cover all bases of wellbeing:

• Strengths
• Emotional Management
• Attention and Awareness
• Relationships
• Coping
• Habits and Goals

Evidence-Based Coaching

While SEARCH provides the what, coaching provides the how. Our methodology is heavily influenced by the academic research of our CEO, Liz Robson.

In her research, Robson-Kelly and van Nieuwerburgh (2016) explored how coaching can support young people at risk of developing mental health problems. The study highlighted that coaching offers a non-stigmatising, empowering intervention that helps young people build resilience and self-efficacy. By integrating coaching skills into our Positive Education Programs, we ensure that students are not just passive recipients of information but active participants in their own personal development.

Furthermore, Robson-Kelly (2018) has argued for a "nuanced approach" to Positive Education in the UK. We recognise that the UK educational context differs from other regions; therefore, our programmes are designed to be practical, adaptable, and sensitive to the diverse needs of British schools (Robson-Kelly & Ellis, 2018).

Our Credibility and Expertise

We are not just training providers; we are pioneers in the field of Positive Education in the UK. For over 15 years, Worth-it has been at the forefront of preventing mental health problems in children and young people using positive psychology and coaching.

Our expertise is built on:

• Experience: We have worked with over 500 schools nationally and internationally in 28 diffrent countries.
• Reach: Over 5000 children and young people have directly participated in our early prevention programmes.
• Training Capacity: We have trained over 3500 practitioners, including teachers, youth workers, and NHS staff.
• Diverse Application: Our work ranges from direct interventions with individual students to large-scale consultancy for Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and Local Authorities.

Our programmes are co-produced with young people and grounded in real-world application, ensuring they resonate with the students sitting in your classrooms today.

Our Positive Education Programs: Features and Benefits

We offer a suite of programs designed to support you at every level of your school's journey—whether you are setting strategy, upskilling staff, or empowering students.

1. Positive Education Consultancy

For schools or settings requiring a bespoke, strategic approach to Positive Education and wellbeing.

Who it is for: Groups of schools, MATs, Local Authorities, and Commissioners.

Key Features:

• ‍‍Tailored strategic review and planning and development of tailored positive education programs and interventions.
• Executive positive psychology coaching or training for leadership teams.
• Positive education curriculum design and program delivery
• System-wide implementation of positive education and positive psychology coaching frameworks.

Benefits: Ensures a consistent, high-quality approach to wellbeing across multiple sites, aligning with Ofsted requirements for personal development.

Find out more about our Positive Education Consultancy here!

2. The Wellbeing Club

Our flagship on-demand wellbeing training package is designed to support the Senior Mental Health Lead, pastoral or school leaders in developing a school wellbeing strategy and program for students.

Who it is for: Senior Mental Health Leads (SMHLs), School Leaders, Pastoral Managers.

Key Features:

• ‍‍Access to the 'SMHL Wellbeing Pathway' school wellbeing strategy training and planning tools
• Access to the 'Wellbeing Toolkit' wellbeing curriculum training and resourses
• Access to the 'Staff Wellbeing Toolkit' training tools and resourses to support school staff wellbeing.
• A library of evidence-based wellbeing resources and Mental Health CPD workshops.
• Online regular school wellbieng consultancy and a community of peers.

Benefits: Saves time by providing ready-to-use wellbeing and personal development resources; reduces the overwhelm of leading a school wellbeing strategy; provides flexible bitesize online learning that fits around a busy school timetable.

Find out more about Wellbeing Club here!

3. Wellbeing Ambassadors Program

A powerful peer-to-peer support programme that trains young people to lead wellbeing initiatives.

Who it is for: Students (trained by school staff facilitators).

Key Features:

• ‍‍Train-the-Trainer model: We train your staff to train your students.
• Students learn coaching skills to support peers and share wellbeing stratagies and tips.
• Focuses on reducing stigma and increasing belonging.

Benefits: Increases capacity for student support without overburdening staff; empowers students to become leaders; creates a visible culture of student led wellbeing across the school.

Find out more about Wellbeing Ambassadors here!

4. Positive Psychology Coach Training

An in-depth training course that equips staff with the skills to deliver one-to-one and group coaching interventions.

Who it is for: Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Pastoral Staff, Mentors.

Key Features:

• Accredited by the Association for Coaching.
• Blended learning: Online modules + live practical workshops.
• Covers early intervention, resilience building, character strengths and goal-striving behaviour.‍

Benefits: Enables schools to run their own internal coaching-based Positive Education programs; provides targeted support for students at risk of disengagement or anxiety; upskills staff with advanced communication techniques.

Find out more about our Positive Psychology Coach Training Course here!

Conclusion

Implementing a Positive Education Program is a strategic investment in the future of your school or setting. By leveraging the SEARCH framework and coaching psychology, you can create an environment where mental health is proactively managed, a wellbeing culture is created and personal development is championed.

Whether you need to train a team of student ambassadors or develop a trust-wide strategy, Worth-it has the expertise and the tools to support you.

Ready to take the next step? Discover our Coach Training Program and learn how to develop positive education in your school or setting. Contact us to find out how our Consultancy Services can support you in building a thriving school community.

References

• Robson-Kelly, L. (2018). Is positive education too positive for the UK? Do we require a more nuanced approach to positive education in the UK? European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 2(4), 1-5.
• Robson-Kelly, L., & Ellis, K. (2018). Enhancing learning through Positive Education, wellbeing and resilience. Impact, the journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, 1.
• Robson-Kelly, L., & van Nieuwerburgh, C. (2016). What does coaching have to offer to young people at risk of developing mental health problems? A grounded theory study. International Coaching Psychology Review, 11(1), 75-92.
• Waters, L., & Loton, D. (2019). SEARCH: A meta-framework and review of the field of positive education. International Journal of Applied Pos